Dealing in Arrangements
by FeistyFox
Summary: She should have considered that what he wanted in exchange for paying off her debt was not at all what she had expected when she walked into his shop that morning.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Near to desperate, no nix that, totally desperate, she went to Gold's shop with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had never once gone to the pawnbroker for help, had heard more than enough stories about his dealings to know better, but she had no clue what to do. She was too deep into this now and had no other way out short of defaulting on everything, which would ruin her. Her father had been so terribly far in debt when he passed away, so very far, that even if she sold his shop, truck, house, and all their possessions she had no real way to pay them off. There was no way to undo that she had co-signed on all his loans either. He had needed the help, and her credit had been so good… How could she have said no to her father? He may not have been the savviest businessman, or the most ruthless, but he had been good at what he did. It wasn't his fault the economy had taken such a hit the last few years and that flowers were hardly a necessary commodity for people. It wasn't his fault things had gone wrong because of forces he had no control over. So when he asked her if she would help, half hopeful and half ashamed for having to ask, she had done so without hesitation. He was her father and she would help him no matter what he asked of her. And he had a good plan to repay the loan, and had been chipping away steadily at it for three years, learning how to conserve and preserve his business quickly so he could stay afloat.

She had been happy to have helped even if the only one that was willing to give him a loan was his hardhearted and manipulative landlord. He had been doing well paying it back and had no problems with Gold. As mercurial and feared as he was in this town he did keep his word on deals to the letter. He had given her father a loan with an interest rate that nearly had her passing out, but her father had managed the monthly payments and so had no trouble the way other people did when they crossed Gold. After a few months she had let the worry of it go as her father proved he could handle it and became hopeful that his business, his dream, would make it through this recession. However, no sooner had the economy started to pick up than he had fallen badly ill.

After that everything had gone downhill at a dramatic pace. He had been fighting the cancer for years, although she and a few of the hospital staff were the only ones that knew that. It had been hard of course, between the illness and the treatment, but he had managed with the same steadfast joviality he must have been born with. He had gone into remission twice, and when the cancer made a third appearance they had all been hopeful this would be like the last two times, hard, but managable. She had battened down the hatches, more than ready to help him through this. She was used to it, knew what she would need to do, and how to take care of nearly everything at the flower shop when she wasn't working at the library. She immediately took over the books, management, shipping orders, and inventory with practiced ease while he started chemo. Everything had been going well until it wasn't anymore.

Three months in and she knew something was wrong. She didn't know what it was, she didn't know how she knew, but she recalled with perfect clarity the exact moment she knew her father was dying. She had come in from his shop one evening to make dinner, having finished with all the books, and saw him sitting on the couch tiredly as he watched a soccer match on TV. There was something in the way he was holding himself, something in the way his eyes looked, something in the air around him that alerted her that all was not right. A deep and horrible terror settled in her belly in that instant and without telling him she made an appointment for him to go see Whaler the next day. He insisted the whole way there that everything was fine and that she was wasting her worry. She would hear none of it and he humored her as he always did. When the tests came back a week later and there was no humor left between them.

When they went to get the results she knew it was bad the moment Whaler walked in. His face was grim, and from the usually easy going, tail chasing doctor that was a horrible sign. The next hour was the worst of her life. Two months he'd said. The words haunted her, even now, even after it was over. Two months. Two horrible, life ending, torturous months. Sixty-three days in the end. He'd outlived his timetable by three days. She wished he hadn't. She wished he'd gone a week after they found that out because she would never, ever, forget the pain he went through as he fought to stay alive, as he fought to stay with her. She knew very well he only hung on for as long as he did because he wanted to give her more time with him. Finally, when she got him into bed after a night of vomiting blood, refusing to go to the hospital because he wanted to die at home, she told him she would be fine because he had taught her how to take care of herself. She told him it was her turn to be brave, and that he deserved to rest now. She couldn't stand to see him hurt anymore, not for her, not when it could stop if he would just let it.

He had looked at her with bright, feverish eyes and told her she was the most beautiful rose he'd ever seen bloom. He told her how much he loved her and how very much she reminded him of her mother. He told her he was proud of her. She had smiled softly at him and stroked his sunken cheek, telling him how lucky she was he was her father and how well he had taken care of her and taught her. She told him she loved him too and he had finally fallen asleep with a small smile on his face. It was the last time they spoke, the last time they would ever speak. She sat with him for the next few hours and waited for the inevitable as she held his hand. He slipped away as the sun sank behind the horizon and she had simply gone numb all over, holding his hand tightly in hers for several more hours before she managed to get up and call Whaler and the sheriff so they could pronounce his death.

The next three days were a whirlwind of grief, activity, sleeplessness, and funeral arraignments. She had been nearly overwhelmed by family friends and neighbors, and was too distracted and unfocused to do anything but accept their help. She was thankful for Ruby and Granny, who somehow managed to buffer the hoard as she went about taking care of the technicalities of the funeral. It had been a nightmare, the whole thing, and she still felt like she was trapped in it even with it all done and over with. The house was wrong with only her in it, the shop had been cleared out of fresh flowers, and people were treating her like she was either disabled or had a second head. It wasn't often people died in Storybrooke and the novelty of it made people nervous, as if it was a curse that could be passed from her to someone else.

For the moment she tried not to think about her feelings. This wasn't the time. With his funeral a week behind her and his bills due in three days she had little choice but to go talk to their landlord about it. She could make the next payment on both the rent and the loan, but only just. Her job at the library hardly covered their utility bills the shop and their small home took. There was no way she could support this sort of expense short of hitting the lottery. Her father's life insurance wasn't going to help much either. It had taken the whole thing to cover his medical bills, which had been even more than the loan. Panicked over everything she had simply rolled the money straight to the hospital having no idea what sort of policy they had, but needing to get rid of debt somewhere. Now that it was over and she was half thinking right again she knew that had been a mistake, she should have gone half and half to give herself more time to think, but it was done now. She was just going to have to deal with the consequences of co-signing on the loan, whatever that might be.

Considering she had rarely had any contact with Gold she wasn't entirely sure what to expect when she approached him about this. He had never been cruel to her, always polite if coolly distant the few times they interacted, although she had made him smile once when he came into the library looking for documents on the town. She had never seen him smile before, even if he had hidden it nearly as quickly as it appeared. She tried to hold onto that memory as she crossed the street to the pawnshop because it convinced her that he was indeed a man despite rumor to the contrary, and might be sympathetic toward her situation.

With a sigh she gathered her courage and walked into his shop. She was grateful no one else was here considering it was Saturday afternoon, the busiest time for shopping in the small town she called her own. The bell over the door chimed cheerfully and she wished her mood reflected that sound. Glancing around she didn't see him in the shadows of the shop and called hesitantly. "Mr. Gold?"

There was a soft rustle and then he was pushing aside the curtain that separated the main shop from what she assumed was his office. He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly intrigued as to why she was here. "Miss French." He stepped behind the counter. "It's good to see you out again. My condolences on your father."

That threw her, the utter civility and sincerity in his voice. He was either really sorry for her, or was an extremely good actor. Either way it was nice of him to say it. "Thank you."

"What can I do for you?" He asked as he stepped behind the counter and put both his hands on his cane as he held it in front of him.

She saw no reason to draw this out and got straight to the point. She doubted he would appreciate her wasting his time at any rate. "I need to talk to you about the flower shop if you have time."

"I don't appear to be overburdened with customers." He replied as he leaned easily on his cane.

She couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny or not. She couldn't find it in herself to smile though. She hadn't smiled in weeks. "I've been looking over all the finances." Or obsessing over them as the case may be. She set the folder she had all the paperwork in on the counter between them rather helplessly. "I hadn't realized how much we owed you." He did nothing but watch her with an unreadable expression so she forged on, quashing her nervousness and going with blunt honesty. "I can't pay all of that back." His eyebrow inched up ever so slightly, but otherwise there was nothing. "The flower shop isn't even worth as much as that. I've already sold the truck so I can make the next payment, but after that…" She trailed off for a moment. "I'd like to sell you the shop back if you'll take it, but for the rest I don't know what to do." She searched his face when he said nothing and she went on as the silence stretched uncomfortably. "What would you like me to do?"

"I had thought you were going to take the shop over." He finally answered.

"I was going to." Really she was, until she her new obsession had taught her something. "But it's not financially feasible." His eyebrow inched up a hair higher. "I've run the numbers ten times over. The longer I keep it open the more money I'm throwing away. At least at the library I'm making money."

"Have you considered a different business?" He asked calmly.

Her stomach was bunching. For some reason his calm, the near disinterest, was far more upsetting than the yelling or threats she had been expecting. "I'm not a business person. I'm not good at it." She hated this so much. "And what little I do know is that there is quite a bit of start up cost for anything. Even if I wanted to do something else I can't possibly afford it."

He reached out with the hand that wasn't on his cane and flipped the folder open. His eyes scanned the documents swiftly, sorting through them in a way that told her he certainly knew what he was looking for. She was suddenly terribly insecure about all her math, but when he finally finished looking over every last thing he nodded. "This is quite problematic." She didn't know what else to say. He thought something over for several seconds before coming to some sort of conclusion. "I'll make you a deal."

She braced herself. Deals with Gold were well known to be trouble in this town. They never, not once, fell in the favor of the other person. He had a way of manipulating a situation so he always, always got the better end of things. From a practical standpoint she understood it, from an outside perspective she admired his cleverness, from a personal position she was downright terrified. "What might that be?" She asked calmly, hiding her nervousness the same way she had been hiding all her emotions since this whole horrible thing started.

"I've encountered a rather… annoying problem. Help me solve it and I'll buy the shop back and forgive the remaining debt you owe me." He raised his eyebrow. "I do believe you're the co-signer?"

She was annoyed he was pretending he didn't know that. Of course he knew that. They both knew that so she didn't bother to address that. "What's your problem?" She asked warily, wondering what was worth that much, wondering what she could solve that he couldn't.

"My green card is under a rather strict… review." She sent him a baffled look, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do about that. She hardly worked for immigration even if her job at the library was technically a government position. However, local government wasn't federal government by any stretch of the imagination. "I'm fairly sure it's about to be revoked. Since I would rather not be deported and lose my home and business I find myself with limited options."

It occurred to her what he was going to ask her all at once. This had absolutely nothing to do with her job or abilities. She had no clue why she was surprised this had not gone in any way she had conceived of. "You want me to marry you so you can secure your citizenship and stay in the country?"

"Yes." He said without remorse. He was utterly composed about the whole thing, as if they were discussing the price of the globe setting six inches to the left as opposed to fraud that could get him deported and her sent to prison. "You have duel citizenship I believe."

"I have full citizenship." She corrected, now truly hoping this whole thing was a nightmare as she would eventually wake up. "I had to pick at eighteen."

"Even better." He said in a satisfied sort of way, as if she had far exceeded all his expectations in this matter.

"You're really serious aren't you?" She asked.

He smirked a little, amused by her indignation. "Oh yes." He tapped his hand on the cane. "As I recall you're no longer attached." She flushed at the mention of her unfortunately public break with her fiancé six months prior. She had been mortified by Gary's behavior and had tried to leave several times only to have him grab her in front of all of Granny's. It was lucky for everyone that the sheriff had been there to yank him off or she may well have prevented him from ever having children with another woman, because he was certainly never going to have any with her. "All I need is for you to marry me and continue on with it for eighteen months or so."

"Is that all?" She asked sarcastically.

His lip twitched once at the corner at the first visible sign of anger she had shown at this outrageous deal. "I assure you that you're more than safe from my beastly impulses." She pressed her lips together at that. If he thought for one second she was going to agree to a real marriage she would do to him what she had been planning to do to Gary that night. He seemed to know what she was thinking and continued on. " I've not looking for love, dearie, I'm looking for…"

"A partner in crime?" She provided, utterly disgruntled.

"If you'd like." He said with a careless wave of his hand. "I have several spare rooms in my house you can pick from when you move in. Once a proper amount of time has passed I'll have us legally separated and we can go back to our lives. I'll even set you up with an apartment that is well below sticker price." He eyed her. "I believe you had your eye set on the one over the library?"

She didn't even want to know how he knew that. She had made one inquiry about it to Mary Margaret, _one_, two years ago. How this man always knew everything was both impressive and annoying. However, she wasn't going to get herself arrested no matter how much money she owed him. "Don't you think the government might find that a bit convenient that you've suddenly gotten married when they were looking into your immigration status?"

"You assume that they know that I know." He pointed out smugly.

She stared at him for a long minute and he did nothing but stand there at his ease, waiting for her to make the only choice she really could. She hated that he knew he had her nicely cornered. "And the money, my debt? You'll forgive it all?"

"You have my word."

Her hart sank all the way to her feet. "Then you have mine. I'll marry you." He smirked, and she swore he was close to giggling at his success. She felt detached from herself, but really, it wasn't much different than how she had been the last few days." And what's the story?" She said at last.

His eyebrow twitched back up. "Story?"

He better have thought this through better than simply getting her to agree to it. "Yes, about this supposed relationship. It needs to be believable if you want it to stick. You aren't the only one that's married to stay in this country. They know what to look for."

"Ah yes, I suppose that's true." He commented neutrally, although she could tell he was pleased she was thinking seriously about this whole situation, as if it were far more than he had expected from her. "We've been seeing one another for the last six months."

"Since right after I called off my last wedding?" She asked, stone faced.

He shrugged without regard of her feeling. "It started out as an emotionally fueled fling and then grew into something else. You didn't get around to telling anyone and then your father got ill. At your request I stayed out of it to keep you from being questioned about the relationship and lower the stress of the whole situation. I attended the funeral, so no one will think I was avoiding you. Now it's been a respectable, if short amount of time since your father passed and we decided to make it official. After all, a young lovely thing like you must want a family and secure financial situation. I feel that's a reasonable and bland enough story to be believed. What do you think?"

She answered bluntly. "I think you knew it was only a matter of time before I came in here to talk to you about this."

His eyes glittered. "I doubt anyone has accused you of being slow, dearie. So? When would you like to make this official? I'm afraid I'm on a rather tight time line if I'm to stop this before it becomes apparent I know about the investigation. That would make things infinitely more difficult."

She felt it was rather cruel to pretend she mattered in this at all short of being legally tied to him. "What kind of time line are you on?" She asked with a tired sigh. She refused to show that she was upset by this, by willingly breaking the law and entering into a sham of a marriage. There was no point in showing that when she had agreed to it and he surely had to know at any rate.

"Three weeks optimistically."

"You never struck me as a man with a great deal of optimism." She told him and he said nothing. She continued on. "We should announce it either today or tomorrow then." She could feel a headache coming on. "We need a marriage license and a judge." She refused to have a real wedding with a priest for this. It would make the whole thing even worse in her mind if she did that. Already she felt sick about this, sick that she was turning something she felt so strongly about into a business deal. "And I'd like to at least get my house up for sale and my things packed before we do anything."

"Next Saturday then?" He asked as if suggesting a day to have a casual lunch with an acquaintance. She desperately wished he was an acquaintance, at least she would have an inkling of an idea as to what she was getting herself into.

"All right." She agreed.

"Excellent." He said, shutting the folder with satisfaction. "Come back tonight with the deed and we'll hammer out the details."

"Details for the wedding?"

"Details for the story we'll need to tell should anyone from this fine government come to interrogate us. I would think you would rather be more prepared than less should that occur."

That was incredibly true. "What time?" She asked, feeling simply exhausted all at once.

"Seven."

She nodded. "I'll see you then." She said before turning around to leave the cluttered and shadowed shop.

"Oh, and, dearie?" She turned her head with her hand on the doorknob. "This is our secret, you understand?"

She sent him a look. "Yes, Mr. Gold. I assure you I understand this completely." With that she left, trying to wrap her head around what she had just agreed to as she went home. It was going to take her some time alone to fully grasp the second dramatic twist her life had taken in the last two weeks.

Author Note: New story! Woo! I swear I haven't left Faith in Fiction, I'm waiting to see what the show does so I can manipulate my story to fit it. I want it to flow with the show to keep everything as true as possible. I figured with an AU I could do whatever I wanted and not make you wait for Rumbellina fun! Hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Stepping into his home gingerly she looked around as he shut the door behind them, holding the strap of her bag tightly as it rested on her shoulder. She found the place was, while not exactly as she imagined it, very close. Much like his shop it was somehow both too full and open all at once. It was also just as dark and she wondered what this man had against sunlight, or perhaps he just really enjoyed the thick embroidered fabrics his curtains were made of. The place reminded her of a cross between a castle and a mad Victorian lord's summer home. The walls were covered in things of all kinds, most of which she wouldn't have thought to put on a wall, and there was furniture shoved in what felt like every conceivable free space. How he achieved this odd balance of comfortable moving space, and in her opinion far too many things was a mystery she wasn't sure she would ever be able to solve. It was almost magical.

He moved past her as he spoke. "I'll show you around."

She tried to lighten the mood, although she suspected she was the only one nervous. He had been thinking of this for some time and had already prepared himself to have a new housemate. "I do love museum tours."

He glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow, but she caught his lip curl up for the briefest moment as she smiled at him. Really, there was no reason to make this unpleasant if they were going to be living together. She hoped he was thinking along the same lines. "Do you?"

"Really, you have no idea."

"Well-" He said calmly as he headed toward the back. "Then you should enjoy living here for a few months." She shook her head at that, but took in everything as he started the short tour. "Parlor." He waved at the room she had already spotted from the entryway as they moved on. "Coat closet." He moved quickly for a man with a limp and she hurried to keep up. "That door leads to the basement. There's not much down there but boxes and old furniture." There was more furniture? How could there be more furniture? How many couches did this man own?

"Do you rotate it through when you get bored looking at it?" She asked, half amused and half curious.

"It's extra storage for the shop." He told her.

"I see." She said, and he looked back at her sharply. She didn't know why and tilted her head in question.

Eyeing her for a moment more he returned to his tour. "The kitchen and dinning room are here." He stepped out of the hall and into a large open area. She was immediately in love with the kitchen. She had always had a fondness for culinary pursuits and she couldn't even imagine what she could do in a place like this. Not only was it large, it was full of new and well-made equipment. She barely even noticed the dining room she was so enamored.

"This is wonderful." She said appreciatively.

He paused at her tone. "Do you enjoy cooking?"

She nodded. Cooking was something she had always been good at. Her mother had started teaching her before she died, before they moved here from Australia. When they got here and it became apparent her father was terribly inadequate a cook she had taken over. At first it had only been a chore, but when she realized how happy it made him, eating a good meal, well that had changed her whole outlook on the process. She had started to really like it, and by the time she was sixteen was able to make gourmet meals by doing no more than seeing an episode of something on the food channel, easily filling in all the steps they skipped on the show herself once she had the outline. Once Granny found out she had hired her several times for large catering events. It was a terrible amount of work, which ruined some of the fun of it, but the extra money was certainly nice. "Baking especially."

"Enjoy yourself then." He told her. "I'm rarely in here. I don't particularly enjoy cooking." No wonder he was so thin. She nodded in understanding and he went on. Not much else was interesting really, in the end it was just a large house with too many things, although she was pleased with all the books he had scattered about. At least she wouldn't get bored. Fifteen minutes after they started he opened a door on the second floor. "Your room."

She stepped past him and into the admittedly large bedroom. It had a very beautiful bay window with a cushioned seat in front of it against one wall. She spotted two other doors, one on either side of the room, a metal-framed bed, and a large and very pretty wooden dresser. The bed was made with a simple yellow comforter, which she had no real opinion on, and a thick blue and tan rug covered the wooden floor at the center of the room. "I thought you would want to bring your own bedding with you. If not I have more for you to choose from."

"I have my own." She told him as she set her bag on the bed and began to look around. Figuring this was her space now she didn't bother to be subtle about it. Going to the first door she opened it and found a large, and surprisingly empty walk in closet. It was more than three times as big as the closet she had at her father's house and she had no worry about all her things fitting in here. Closing the door she was about to go see what the other one was when he spoke.

"That leads to my room." When she sent him an odd look he shrugged. "On the off chance someone comes up here it would be easy to say you simply wanted your own room to keep your clothes and get ready in the morning. There's more than enough space in this house to accommodate that."

He had thought about this way too much, and she was pretty concerned about not being ready for a fall out. Even if they were investigated it seemed unlikely to her that the house would be invaded. "Do you really think that's likely?"

"I like to be prepared." He told her. "Having said that I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my bedroom. The rest of the house is at your disposal." He leaned on his cane. "I promise to extend you the same courtesy."

She certainly appreciated that line of thinking. "Unless there's a fire or other random emergency I won't go in your room." She reasoned, somehow feeling she had to be needlessly specific about this.

"Baring drastic circumstance." He agreed dryly.

"All right then." She said as she looked toward the window. "When should I bring my things over?" They were set to be married in three days, something she was honestly trying not to dwell on deeply, and he had told her they were going to be out of town for a few days to give the semblance of a short honeymoon. Where they were going she didn't know, and hadn't asked since it made little difference to her.

"I'll hire movers to help you."

She waved that off. "I don't have that much. Not even enough to fill my car. I don't need help with it."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow but reached into his pocket. He pulled a key ring out and extended his hand into the room. She only just noted that he hadn't stepped inside and realized he was taking this personal space issue very seriously. Stepping forward she took the offering and he went on. "I have a garage door opener for you downstairs. If you ever get locked out there's a spare key under the flowerpot on the back porch with the yellow roses in it."

"Thanks." She said as she pulled out her car keys and began to put the new key on the ring.

He nodded. "I have some things to take care of before we leave Saturday. I'll leave you to get comfortable."

She grabbed her bag quickly. "I'll just go pack my things if you're leaving." She told him. "I'll move everything sometime tomorrow. Will that work for you?"

"Yes." He agreed. "It's no trouble hiring someone to help you."

She thought that was really very nice of him considering he didn't really need to be this considerate of her when they were on their own. "Really, that's very thoughtful, but I don't have much. Just my clothes, books, and a few keepsakes I want to bring."

"What about the things you're putting in storage?" He asked.

"I'm not putting anything in storage." She told him. "Marco is helping me set up an estate sale in a few weeks. I'll sell the house as soon as it's empty. I already have an offer on it, so at least that'll be easy."

This seemed to catch him off guard, and she was actually pleased that he was capable of being surprised. "You have a buyer already?"

"Yes." She answered. It had been very fast she knew, but as soon as word got out that she was moving in with her soon to be husband she had been approached about the house, before she could even put up a sign about it going up for sale. Mary Margaret and David had been looking for a house for at least two years, but there weren't any up for sale in the small town. She knew building would be too expensive for them, the salary of a teacher and a sheriff didn't stretch that far especially with a seven year old to take care of.

Mary Margaret had caught her as she was leaving the library the day after word got out and asked if she was going to hold onto the house. What followed was a quick conversation about what she and David could afford to give her for the property. It was less than what she had been going to ask for it, substantially so, but she liked the Nolen's, and David had been terribly kind to her in the aftermath of her father's death. Mary Margaret had been over at her house every day after work to help her get things together without a thought of being asked to do so, and she had always liked the other woman. She was always so sweet and helpful even when no one asked for help. Knowing that she didn't need the extra money with her deal with Gold, which was happening regardless, and how much they wanted the house, she accepted the offer without haggling at all.

That had thrown the woman badly, and she had repeated how much they could afford as if she hadn't heard her properly. She agreed to it a second time and told her she would have the deed ready for them, along with all the closing paperwork in two days. All she had asked was for the Nolen's to give her a few weeks in order to have everything cleared out and sold, which Mary Margaret agreed to with adamant understanding before leaping at her and hugging her so tightly she thought she may have broken one of her ribs.

The next day David had found her on her lunch break and made sure she really wanted to sell the house to them. It was as if he thought Mary Margaret, the sweetest and least manipulative person on the planet had somehow duped her into giving them the house. Honestly, it was worth the loss of the money to have it gone to her. It was one less thing for her to worry about, one less thing to remind her of her loss. And setting her own feelings aside they were good people that deserved to catch a break. She had patiently assured him that she was neither bothered by the price they had settled on or in some sort of delusional state to take it. She then told him she was getting everything in order for them and if he wanted the house inspected before she sold it to him now was the time. She also told him, fairly, that she was worried about some of the pipes in the house and they might have to be replaced within the next two years, which would no doubt be a large expense. David had left dumbfound and happy, and she was left with the large chore of setting up an estate sale before she moved anywhere.

Gold interrupted her thoughts. "That was fast. I'd thought you would think about selling it for a few months before putting it up for sale."

"I can't afford the mortgage." She told him honestly as her anxiety shot sky high in an instant. He had told her he would find her a place to live. If that weren't true it was yet something else to worry about. "And you said you would help me get an apartment later."

"I did." He agreed, and her stomach settled back down again before she even realized it was becoming upset. "But why sell everything else?"

"I don't have any reason to keep it." She told him. "And I never really liked the furniture my father picked out. It'll be easier just to get rid of it." She was tired of thinking about this and she felt as if she might cry again. She had been crying for weeks now, at least that's what it felt like, although really she had only broken down once the night after the funeral when she was alone in the house. There had been a few tears in between, but never in front of anyone and she always stopped it before she could do more than sniff a few times. "Thank you for showing me around." She said in way of farewell. "I should really go pack up while I have the time. I have to work tomorrow and get out of the house by Thursday so it can be inspected."

He moved out of her way politely. "Of course."

She gave him a small smile, although it was a fake one, as she passed. They went down the stairs quietly and he held the front door open for her politely after picking up the promised garage door opener from the table in the entryway. She placed the item in her purse along with her new key and they stepped out on the porch. "What time would be convenient for you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Let's say six." He said. "That should give you plenty of time to get things together after work."

"All right." She agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He nodded and she left, walking down the porch and to the street where she had parked her car. Getting in quietly she left, spotting him going back into the house in her rearview mirror as she pulled onto the street.

The feeling of all of this being unreal had yet to go away. As she headed back to the house, pausing at a stoplight, she glanced down at her left hand and stared at the large diamond ring on her finger. Gold certainly hadn't been stingy about making this whole lie look real, that was for sure. When she had gone back over to his shop that night he had made her tea as they settled down to discuss what they were about to do. She was rather startled by the niceness of it, of the civility he was displaying, and desperately hoped this was part of his normal personality instead of some sort of act he was putting on for her.

She had tried her best to stay polite as well, having quickly come to the conclusion that this could either be a bearable year and a half or a hellish one depending on her outlook and behavior. Since she didn't particularly want to be miserable she had decided she would do everything in her power not to be. This situation was what it was now. She committed to it and there was no point in making it worse than it was. She would make the best of this.

"How do you take your tea, dearie?" He asked as she glanced around the back of the shop. It was as full as the front, although his desk and a large counter covered in tools and pieces of clocks, jewelry, and what she thought was a piccolo. There were also neat piles of paperwork and folders stacked all over. She wondered how he found anything in here, just looking at it drove her crazy, but she was insanely organized. Then again perhaps her organizational system was just vastly different from his.

"With milk or creamer." She answered as she was distracted by a nearby box, which was carved with driftwood and pearls. It was one of the loveliest things she'd ever seen. "Whichever one you have."

He stirred in some milk for her and she wondered if anyone else in this town understood his fascination with teatime. She knew it was very much a part of his culture and that in America few others really understood the European obsession with tea. Finished, he handed her the cup, a lovely delicate thing on a saucer, and went back to get his own. She saw he stirred in milk and a small spoonful of sugar. That done, he sat on an old wooden stool near her that looked as uncomfortable as a seat could be, yet he was quite at his ease.

Taking a small sip of his drink he set it on a table between them and started, opening up a plain blue folder that was also on the table. "I've managed to get a list of questions they're likely to ask us should anyone question the marriage."

"Should I ask how?"

"I know a number of people." He told her. "And most of them owe me favors."

She shook her head and picked up a sheet of paper with a long list of questions on it. Most of them were fairly straight forward, asking about birthdays, likes, dislikes, family life, and a few other odds and ends regarding financial and property holdings. They all seemed normal things to ask about. "This is it?" She asked with some disbelief. "Surely the questions are a bit… deeper than this."

"Apparently not." He said easily.

She felt this was a bit too easy and shook her head. Starting at the top she read the first question and let out a small, half amused, half frustrated sound. He waited as she spoke. "Maybe they aren't so ridiculous." She said. "Considering I don't know your first name."

"What?" He asked with some surprise.

She shrugged. "No one ever says it do they? It's always Mr. Gold, or Gold, or occasionally when you've really pissed someone off, the beast."

"The beast?" He asked, his voice filled with dark amusement. He was almost charmed by the ridiculous nickname he clearly didn't know he had.

They needed to get back on track. "So what is it? Your name?"

"Russell Alexander Gold."

She actually liked that. She was expecting something much stuffier. "That's a nice name."

He simply raised an eyebrow. "It's hardly as pretty as Isabelle French."

She wrinkled her nose. She didn't know why everyone assumed that was her name. "Annabelle, it's Annabelle French."

"Deepest apologies." He replied, showing exactly how much thought he put into her prior to this deal, which was none at all. "I must have misread my paperwork when I was looking at the loans. What's your middle name?"

"Rose." She told him. "My father was a man obsessed."

He said nothing to that and they continued on with the questions for nearly three hours before they were done. By the time it was over her head was spinning, but she was sure she had everything down properly. Seeing nothing else she finished her third cup of tea, as he kept refilling them. "Anything else?"

"Not on the list." He replied. "Although there is something else."

"I agree." She said as she flipped through the list. "Food allergies weren't listed on here anywhere. I'm not going to kill you if I make a peanut butter sandwich am I?"

His lip curled up for a moment. "No."

"How about if I have a hankering for seafood? Are shellfish allowed in your house?"

"I'm not allergic to anything." He told her. At least she wouldn't kill him in any culinary pursuits.

"Good, I would hate to accidently murder you when I went to get a midnight snack." His lip twitched again. "It seems a cruel way to end a marriage."

He was amused, she could tell. "Speaking of which." Reaching into his pocket he pulled something out with his nimble fingers and held it out to her. She was so shocked at the sight of the huge diamond ring she dropped her nearly empty cup. The delicate ceramic hit the edge of the couch and bounced onto the carpet-covered floor. He stared at her and she immediately swooped down and grabbed the cup hoping she hadn't broken it. The set was clearly both old and expensive and the last thing she wanted was to destroy his things. Her fingers wrapped around the handle and she straightened up with it. All she could think was that she hadn't… completely smashed it. She felt awful when she saw the large piece missing from around the rim. She also had a crazy, irrational fear that he would change his mind about this whole thing because of her clumsiness. For one instant she was sure the destruction of the cup would be her ruin. She held it out for him to see, apology written all over her face, because truly, she was terrified. "I'm so sorry, but it's chipped. You can hardly see it."

"It's just a cup." He said after a moment.

She gave him a small, relieved smile and set the cup back down on the table where she couldn't hurt it further. He offered her the ring again and she took it from him quickly. "This is a bit much." She told him as she slid the ring onto her finger.

"Hardly." He said. "You'll be my wife."

She wasn't sure how to take that exactly, but accepted the ring all the same. She had never imagined wearing anything worth as much as this was and made a promise to herself that she would not loose this under any circumstances. "Thank you." She said as she settled it. "I need to go tell Ruby before anyone else knows or she'll know something is going on."

"Should I be worried you're going to tell her what really is going on?"

"No." She said at once. For all she loved Ruby her friend couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it, not for more than two or three hours at any rate. It would be a horrible idea to let her know. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

He shrugged as if he wasn't worried, but she sensed he just might be for all his pretending at nonchalance. "Will she believe you even if you don't? She has a curious way of smelling the truth that one."

"Yes, she'll believe me." She replied.

"How can you be sure?"

"I've never lied to her before." She answered. "She has no reason not to."

He liked that answer. "Trust does make things easier." He said as he stood up, gathering up the papers and their cups as he went. He limped the short distance back to the tea tray without his cane and she wondered how he had hurt his leg, and how badly it was damaged. It wasn't the first time she'd wondered, and when she asked no one else seemed to know either. He had come here with it hurt, almost ten years ago now, and he hadn't shared the story or surely the whole town would know by now.

Shaking her head a little she got up and grabbed her purse. "Well need to start being seen together." She told him. "I'll bring lunch over tomorrow and make sure people see me on the way."

He shrugged without concern. "If you'd like."

"This has very little to do with what I'd like." She told him. He glanced over at her and she continued. "But if we're going to do this I'd like to do it properly."

"Nothing about this is proper, dearie, including me."

She sent him a look that told him she was not impressed with him, or his ego, at all. "You know very well what I mean." She slung her bag over her shoulder, the book inside hitting her hip with a soft whump. She was so accustomed to that feeling she barely noticed it. "If we're going to play house then we need to do that. People here know me. They're going to figure out that something is wrong if you don't treat me nicely. After what happened with Gary I don't think anyone in town will believe I'll stay with a man that doesn't treat me like he should."

"What did happen between you and Gaston, hm? You made such the lovely couple."

She refused to address that issue. "That's neither here nor there."

"Don't ruffle those feathers." He told her calmly as he set the paperwork on his desk to be dealt with later. "I assure you I will treat you with the utmost respect."

"That would be lovely." She agreed. "But I said nicely. I need you to treat me _nicely_." She really needed to be clear about this. "I'm not saying you have to do anything ridiculous, but you need to be nice to me, especially out in public."

"Being nice was nowhere in the deal." He told her.

She crossed her arms. "Do you want this to work or not?"

"Oh very well." He replied, no doubt seeing her point. "I'll be _nice_."

Despite herself she let out a small laugh at his tone. "They say marriage can be hard."

He eyed her. "I thought you needed to go?"

She waggled her finger at him. "Not nice."

His lip twitched once again. Eventually she would get a real smile out of him even if it took the whole eighteen months. "I beg your pardon. I simply thought you had joyful news you might wish to share with your dearest friend."

"Overkill." She told him as she headed toward the door. "Work on that for tomorrow."

He said nothing and she left and she hoped he took that seriously or this was not going to go over at all. Leaving the shop the sound of the bell followed her out into the cool night air. Spring was coming to a close and the summer was doing it's best to grab hold. There were a few weeks left yet, but soon the season would take full hold. As she headed toward the inn she thought rather vaguely that she has always wanted a fall wedding. Of course, she had always wanted a man she loved, so there was no point in quibbling over technicalities.

Getting to the diner she walked in to find the place mostly empty. In the corner Leroy was staring moodily into a glass of beer and Ashley and her fiancée were sharing a bowl of ice cream near the window, her belly nearly overtaking the corner. She couldn't be more than a week or so away from having the baby at this point. At the counter Ruby was humming and swinging her hips to a new song she'd heard on the radio a few days ago and Granny was working on her books quietly. Normally the sight of something so familiar would sooth her, but right now she was too worked up about all the lying she was about to do to feel good about anything. She hoped she was a good enough actress to pull this off.

"Ruby?" She asked, being sure her hand was hidden by her bag.

Her friend looked up and smiled at her. "Belle!" Ruby was clearly relieved to see her. "I'm so glad you're out of the house." She was smiling beautifully at her. "Do you want some ice cream?" She reached under the counter and pulled out a small jar. "I ordered sprinkles just for you."

"Actually I need to talk to you." She indicated the back and Ruby frowned slightly and nodded. Granny hummed a distracted hello to her and patted her arm as she passed by her. A few moments later and she and Ruby were in the kitchen and the swinging door was closing behind them.

"What's up?" Ruby asked, looking closely at her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I mean of course it is, I hope you think so." She stuttered out, more nervous than she had anticipated trying to lie her way through this.

Ruby sent her an odd look. "What exactly do you hope I think is okay?"

"I, I umm… You can't get angry with me."

She could see she wasn't helping her own cause here at all. "Nope, not going to promise when you're this wigged out about whatever is going on." All at once Ruby looked horrified. "Oh, god, you didn't hook up with Gary did you?"

"What?"

Ruby was relieved and squeezed her arm. "Oh, thank goodness, I mean, I would have understood with everything going on, but just never again with him. What a looser. You can do way better."

What a convenient segue. "That's actually what I wanted to tell you." She fidgeted. "Ruby, I've been seeing someone for awhile now. Since right after I broke up with Gary."

"You've what?" She sidelined her friend completely.

"I just…" She stuck with the story Gold had come up with, because really, it was believable. "It was just a fling at first." She flinched a little, trying to be convincing. "And I didn't see any reason to say anything but things kind of, well, got serious. Then dad was sick and there were more important things to worry about."

"Who are you seeing?" Her friend asked.

"Like I said, it's gotten more serious." She held her hand out. "A lot more."

Ruby looked down and her eyes got huge when she saw the ring. "Holy mother of…" Her friend grabbed her hand and pulled it up so she could see the large diamond set on the golden band. "Is this _real_?"

"Yes." She assured her, because she was sure it was.

Her friend finally looked up from her ogling. "Who on earth are you engaged to?"

"Russell."

"Russell? Who's Russell?"

"Russell Gold." She supplied, rather happy she wasn't the only one that hadn't known his first name.

There was a significant pause as Ruby comprehended what she said. "What?" She shouted. "Are you out of your mind?"

"No-"

"This isn't funny!"

She pulled her hand back to her chest. "I know it isn't." She agreed.

"This is insane!" Ruby said, her voice not lowering at all when she realized she was serious. "Are you out of your mind?"

The door to the back opened and Granny came in. "What are you yelling about?"

"Talk some sense into her!" Ruby demanded of her grandmother. "She's completely lost her mind!"

"I thought you would be happy for me." She said softly, which was probably the worst lie she'd uttered yet.

"Happy for you? You want me to be happy for you? You are engaged to a beast of a man!"

"He's not like that-" She protested weakly.

"He's exactly like that! You should know! He nearly put your father in the poor house!"

"He gave my father a loan." She told her. "He gave him one when no one else would and saved his business." That part at least was true. She fidgeted as she started lying again though. "He's been good to me Ruby."

"Do you even hear what you're saying to me right now?"

"Ruby, calm down now." Granny said and Ruby spluttered incoherently. "This is no way to treat your friend when she's come to try to share some happiness with you."

"Oh my god. I can't believe you aren't freaking out right now!" Ruby said as she threw her hands up. "Fine, whatever." She headed to the door. "I'm going back to work."

She flinched as Ruby stormed out, banging the swing door so hard it almost came off it's hinges. She glanced over at Granny who was shaking her head at her granddaughter. "I doubt that went the way you expected."

"Actually, it did." She said quietly.

Granny eyed her. "Are you doing this because you're upset right now? I've lost enough people to know the strange things we'll do while we grieve."

"No." She answered honestly. "I'm really not."

"Are you sure?" She pushed.

"Yes." She assured her. "I've been seeing him since before dad got sick." She looked around the kitchen simply for something to do. "But I won't lie and say it's not moving faster because of what happened. I want a home. I don't like being by myself." Also true. It was odd how much easier and more believable this was when she kept peppering truth in among the lies. She turned her eyes back to the older woman. "I would have married him anyway."

"You know you can stay here with us if you don't like being alone at the house."

"I know." She told her, and she knew it was true. "But this will be better for me."

"If you're sure." Granny said after a moment. "I suppose it's silly to start questioning your judgment now. It's better than most people's."

"We're getting married this weekend." Before the woman could say anything she went on. "I know that sounds fast, it is, but I never wanted a big wedding anyway. I'd like you both to be there, but I'll understand if you don't want to come. I know not many people are fond of Gold."

"Of course we'll be there." Granny said. "Don't let Ruby ruin this for you if this is your happiness. She'll cool down by tomorrow and you can talk about it then. She's only upset because she didn't know about it sooner." The woman smiled at her. "We both want you to be happy. If this is who makes you happy then we'll get used to him."

"Thank you." She said with real sincerity.

Stepping up to her Granny hugged her tightly. She hugged her back, feeling better for the affection, and when the other woman pulled back and held her back she gave her a small smile. "This is what I need to do, Granny, for me."

"Then that's what you'll do." The woman agreed simply. "Now, it sounds like you have a busy week ahead of you. Why don't you go home and get some sleep and tomorrow we'll all have a nice breakfast together. How's that sound?"

"It sounds nice." She replied.

"Then that's what we'll do." The woman patted the side of her head affectionately. "Now you go on. You need rest and Ruby needs to blow off some steam as you well know."

She nodded in agreement. Granny was right. In a few hours Ruby would have run herself out of steam and they could talk about this like reasonable adults. "Okay. Goodnight, Granny. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Go sleep." The woman ordered. "And be sure you eat something today. You've been skipping again."

"I will." She promised. "Thank you for understanding."

"That's what I'm here for." Reaching over she began to bustle about packing her a doggy bag with things she had at hand. Closing it up when it was full she handed it to her. "Now you don't even need to think about it."

"Goodnight, Granny." She said as she headed out the back door. "I'll see you tomorrow." The woman nodded and smiled at her as she left and as promised she went home and ate the food she was given, although sleep wasn't fast to find her. Instead she wandered around the house for a few hours before she started to clean to give herself something to do. Hours later and the house was spotless from floor to ceiling and she was tired enough to collapse in her bed and sleep fitfully for a few hours before she had to get up and start this masquerade full force.

Author Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you are all excited about the story line! Let me know what you think, I love feedback


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

He had to admit he was pleased. It wasn't often things fell in line so easily. When he'd discovered his immigration status was up for review through a contact he had been wise enough to find and maintain since he'd moved here ten years ago, he had been furious. He had been scrupulous in his record keeping, followed all the bloody rules of this ridiculous government, and kept all his deals perfectly, meticulously legal. He hadn't gone to law school for no good reason. He knew the law in this country better than the people that were born and raised here their whole lives did. It was hardly his fault no one else bothered to look at it. He certainly wasn't going to feel bad for outwitting anyone in the great game of business. Perhaps they should spend more time thinking and less time reacting emotionally and they might be able to keep up.

Of course, if that were how most people functioned he certainly wouldn't have done nearly as well for himself as he had. He'd come to this country with relatively little in the way of money, but clearly had an overabundance of zeal. He wouldn't apologize for doing well after all the work he put into making his business thrive. Nor would he express regret for slowly and surely buying up most of the land and property in this small town. He had seen how well that worked in his own hometown growing up. If you owned everything, well, who could take it away from you? The answer should have been no one. He was enraged to find that here, with his legal status in question, the bloody government could sweep the entire thing out from under him. Ten years of work, manipulation, and utter obsession over securing a small fortune for himself and it could be all gone in less time than it would take for a month to pass.

For the first time in years he had really, truly, lost his temper. It wasn't something he was proud of, as he had a nasty one by any standard, and when the incident was over and half the possessions in his parlor destroyed he was thankful no one else had been there to witness it. It did however wear him out enough to think properly again. With physical exhaustion came mental clarity and he began to turn the problem over as he sat in his favorite armchair surrounded by broken belongings and shattered glass with his leg throbbing worse than it had in the last year.

In the end he could think of only two options. He could cut his losses and return to Scotland, or he could bribe someone at immigration. Neither option was overly appealing to him. While in one respect large going back to Scotland would be very nice indeed, most of the thought was wholly unpleasant. There weren't nearly as many opportunities there as there were here, and if he did cut and run, well, his losses would be significant. The large majority of his income came from his properties, loans, and rent. If he were to remove himself from Storybrooke all of that would be gone the moment he stepped out of town. His savings might still be there, and it would be enough for him to live on if he did so modestly, but it was hardly the legacy he had promised himself he would leave to his son.

There was, of course, also the stigma that would come with going back home. If he threw in the towel he knew very well what people would say. The mere thought of being compared to the miserable excuse of a father he had been cursed with had him getting up to go get a strong drink as he kicked the remains of a vase against the wall where it shattered a second time. He refused to go back. He'd burned that bridge well, making sure to pour gasoline atop the thing before lighting it on fire. No, he would not be going back to Scotland even if he ended up in a pauper's house here.

Still, his second option wasn't much better. As helpful as his government contact was, Mal certainly couldn't do much more than warn him of things. The woman was clever and sneaky, two things he admired, but in the end had little power in the workplace short of her feminine wiles, which he wasn't going to hang his future on. He needed someone more secure and powerful to make this go away, and knew that was going to be both difficult and damned expensive. He would no doubt loose just as much going that route in the end, and unfortunately would put him in a bad spot on top of it. He would be at the mercy of whatever nameless official he used, which meant they could no doubt come back for more money over and over again with the threat of deportation. Frustrated and irritable he went to bed, hoping that a solid night of sleep would sooth him enough to be able to ignore the injustice of the whole thing.

Two days later and he was running out of time and resigned himself to start smoozing. He hated the whole thing, hated having to debase himself, but he had to do something before he didn't have a chance to do anything. He was, in fact, picking up the phone to call Mal to start his search for a sponsor when he heard someone step into his shop. He was initially annoyed with the interruption, wanting to get this started while he was in the right mindset, when he heard who called to him from the front of his shop.

Despite his reputation, and his hardhearted approach to business, he couldn't in good conscious ignore a woman whose father had died not a week ago. He had set the phone back on the receiver quietly and given Miss French his full attention. He knew little about the woman, save that she worked at the library. He had never had any problems with her, which was one of the few reasons he did know so little about her. The woman was unobtrusive, endlessly polite, and apparently either smart enough or lucky enough not to have gotten in his way. That is, until that day.

When she told him why she was there he had initially been annoyed. He didn't have time to deal with this today. He was looking at loosing far more than what she now owed him, as he recalled quite clearly she was the co-signer on this loan, and didn't have the energy or heart to properly threaten her. She had shown him the math of the thing as if he didn't already know it and he glanced through it briefly, finding exactly what he had expected to find. He found that she was now the proud owner of a very sizable loan with a rather steep, but fair, interest rate. He didn't see how this was his problem, and at the moment this loan was merely a drop in the bucket of what was no doubt going to be the most expensive bloody buy out of his life…

All at once his mind made a very lovely, very financially acceptable suggestion. He paused as he was looking at a spreadsheet of the inventory the flower shop normally took in and examined the idea in great detail and with amazing speed. Her loan was indeed a very small drop in his bucket. He glanced up at her for a millisecond and saw that for her, this was no small matter at all. Miss French was in a bind, and wouldn't you know, so was he? Without hesitation he made her a deal, that to his mind was far fairer than most he had made, no matter how outrageous it was. Even he was a little surprised by it, because it was contemptible, but this new third option was less expensive, neater, and much less likely to fail than bribery at such a high level. All he had to worry about with a fake marriage was the other person involved keeping their mouth shut. He could control someone that owed him something far more easily than someone that he owed.

As the offer sat between them to be discussed he expected any number of things. Outrage would have been his first guess, followed closely by either tears or begging. Instead she had simply watched him with a sort of calm incredulity. She had been more moved by his mention of her break up with her idiot hulk of a fiancé several months ago than she had by his deal to set things right between them. Clearly she was either crazed or too distracted by grief to feel anything else, and after a moment agreed, much to his shock. Not that he'd let her see how surprised he was she accepted his term, or how delighted he was that he'd just solved a major personal crisis. Of course, she'd solved her own crisis as well.

If she was willing than he more than happy to consider her loan repaid in full, assuming of course she held up her end of the bargain. When she demanded a back story he was actually delighted she was thinking about this and he threw one out off the cuff, using what very little he did know about her to make it plausible. When he asked her for her thoughts, wanting to know them so they could effectively manipulate the story further if she chose, and she accused him of preplanning all of this he pretend that he had done that. It made him sound even cleverer than he was, and he so delighted in his cunning. He let her believe that he had thought the whole thing out with precise care, wanting her to be intimidated. He didn't need her getting any ideas in that pretty head of hers that she could weasel her way out of this deal before it was done.

She had only the briefest moment of anger before it dissipated. After that she had simply accepted it. He thought it very likely she had only complied so easily because of the recent death of her father, which was no doubt the reason behind the bags under her eyes and her sickly pale skin, but that only made things easier for him. True, it made him a rat bastard taking advantage of her, but he had been that long before she stepped into his shop, as he was sure she was aware. He refused to feel bad about it, after all her problem was being taken care of as well.

When she came back that night to be sure everything was straight he was more than pleased with her attitude. She was straightforward about the whole thing as they went through all the questions and was clearly committing everything he told her to memory with no problem. He noted once again that she was smart, which he hoped worked in his favor instead of getting in the way since she could clearly see the consequences of this falling apart. He wanted her to see the consequences and frankly, if she got it in her head to ruin this lovely little plan of his and got him deported he would be sure she was thrown in jail. However, since she didn't appear to be thinking along those lines he held the threat in for the future should he need to use it.

The following few days, he knew, would be the most delicate, the hardest to balance. Not only did they need to worry about making this appear real, he had to worry about her unexpectedly backing out. Much to his satisfaction and surprise the town took to the story with great delight. The gossip mongers were all over the story, inventing fake sightings of them left and right, telling one another they knew something had been going on with her since she broke up with her fiancé last fall. After all they said, Belle French had always been a bit of an odd ball with the way she loved books and her upbringing in a foreign country, why not end up with him? She was apparently, according to the town, just peculiar enough, and just sweet enough to be able to deal with him, the apparent beast lurking in their midst. They also hoped, he understood, that he didn't kill her or otherwise destroy the delicate organ that was her heart, as if he had any interest in that at all.

True, she was a smart woman, and he couldn't deny that her accent was truly exquisite. Nor could he deny that she was a stunning beauty by any standard. The woman certainly lived up to her name. And if he were totally honest with himself he knew very well she was just the type he liked. Small, delicate, dark curls falling well past her shoulders, and those perfect lips. Gorgeous from head to toe. However, he wasn't such a young man anymore. Perhaps twenty years ago he would have well thrown himself at her mercy so she could do what she would with him, pampered her, spent all his money to make her smile, but that phase of his life was well past him. He learned his lesson on that front and would have no more of it. Pretty faces got a man in trouble and he would not be in anyone's sway again. Especially not a beautiful young woman, the worst of all to loose one's head to. No, that would not under any circumstances be happening again, ever. He was a weak man at the core and far too prone to giving too much of himself in a relationship. He appeared to be the only one ever interested in investing, and so simply cut off the funds to that aspect of his life. Far better to be safe than hurt, no matter what kind of coward that made him.

The second worry, of her getting cold feet, clearly needn't have bothered him at all. Miss French simply went into this head on. She lied well and beautifully. He was impressed and he felt rightly so. For a woman who claimed to have never lied to her friend before she certainly was toeing the line of truth and deceit with a skill many would envy. She kept the simple story straight, adding no details to it without informing him, and even those small bits of false information were benign. She had been forced to meat out the story with Ruby and her Grandmother, which he understood, and told them they'd started the relationship after he came in to pick up some documents on the town one night. That in itself had happened, however, it had happened only a little over three months ago, not six, and it had certainly not been raining out at the time, which she had told her friends had prompted him to give her a ride home to keep her dry as she generally walked the few blocks from her home to the library.

He had taken to the simple story and stuck with it. It worked for him, made him look both polite, which he did try to be when not trying to instill fear, and also a bit of a lecher, which people assumed he was. It was a good balance she had maintained. What people assumed about the story after that he simply didn't care. She was a grown woman and could do as she pleased. If she hypothetically pleased to fall into his bed and people believed it, all the better. He knew too, that it helped he was in fact, quite wealthy. He was by no means a handsome man and had he been poor on top of it no one would have bought such a lovely thing starting anything with him. As it was he went off conventional wisdom of young pretty women liking older, well off men.

She made no issue of moving in either, which he also thought would be a struggle of some sort. He had expected her to demand space for her things, or add on some sort of stipulation that he include paying for a storage unit as part of their deal when she sold her house, as she seemed set to do. He had prepared himself for that, and was going to give into it as it was reasonable. Instead she had told him she was simply selling everything with no remorse at all. That had put him on un-solid ground for a few moments, which he didn't like in the slightest. He didn't like when people took him by surprise, and she had done so several times already. He was so thrown he even suggest storage himself, but she had brushed it off without interest. He had let it go, it was none of his business what she did with her things, and made sure she had a key and the garage door opener before she left.

The next day she had moved her things in, insisting she needed no help even though he was there and he had shrugged and gone into his office to work. If she didn't want help he wasn't about to argue with her. He had heard her going up and down the stairs about a dozen times before the front door closed one last time. He then heard her moving about her room quietly for about an hour before he went to see how she was doing and if she needed anything. The only thing she wanted from him was to know where he wanted the bedding she had replaced with a set of blue sheets and a patchwork quilt that looked old enough to be in is shop. He had taken the neatly folded sheets and blanket and left her to finish hanging up her clothes as he wondered if the woman owned a pair of pants. He had never seen her in any and he didn't see any in the neat piles of clothes she was sorting through on the bed, or hanging up in the closet.

He came back after storing the items away in a wardrobe in another room and stood in the doorway. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

She sent him a tired sort of smile. He was sure she was wearing herself out with everything going on, but the week would be over soon enough. "No, I'm fine, thank you for asking."

He glanced over at the bed, seeing a few suitcases. "Be sure to pack something for when we leave. You might want a bathing suite." He didn't know if the water would be warm, but perhaps she liked pools. He was sure there would be one at the hotel.

She seemed slightly surprised. "A bathing suite? We're actually going somewhere?"

He frowned. "Of course. We need a proper paper trail."

"Oh." She replied as she put a dress on a hanger, her hands on autopilot. "Where are we going?"

"Cape Cod." He answered. It was only a two-hour drive away and was romantic enough a location not to raise any eyebrows. It would also have enough for her to do to keep him out of his hair for two days so he could get what work he could done away from his home and business.

She nodded and went to hang the dress up in the closet. "Should I bring anything else specific to wear?"

"Not that I can think of. We'll be gone until Monday evening."

She nodded again and went back to the pile of clothes as he took in the few boxes on the floor. He could see the vast majority were filled with books and it was clear what she valued. "I should be done here in about half an hour. I'll unpack everything else when we get back, I just didn't want anything to wrinkle." He waited to see where this was going. "I'm going to stay at the inn until Saturday."

"You can't avoid me forever. You may as well get used to staying here." He pointed out the obvious.

"I'm not trying to avoid you." She told him as she hung up another dress. "I'm trying to keep some semblance of propriety. Perhaps you would be good enough to allow me to enter into this marriage with some amount of respectability even if the town thinks I'm a crazed, money hungry harlot."

"I think that's a bit over the top." He told her, thinking she was blowing things out of proportion in her head.

She sent him a look. "People are talking as you well know. I'm only paraphrasing."

He frowned, not liking that at all. It was one thing to spread gossip, it was another to be malicious about it. This may be a loveless travesty of a marriage, but no one but them knew that. He may not be liked in this town, in any fashion, but Belle should have earned more respect than this. He was annoyed by it and would pay a visit to whoever was saying that. "Who said that?"

"The whole town is saying that." She said without much interest as she flicked her wrist to straighten out the skirt of the dress she was working on. "They're also all convinced I'm pregnant and that's why this is so fast."

"People are thoughtless and vapid creatures."

"While I appreciate the sentiment it makes very little difference in public opinion." She hung up the dress. "I'm simply telling you what's going on. Thankfully no one has ever seen me sneaking out of your house in the wee hours of the morning and some people are still slightly sympathetic toward me as my father died ten days ago." Her voice hitched ever so slightly at the word died, but she regained herself quickly. "So if we go about this the right way and it becomes clear in a few months that I'm not knocked up it should all smooth itself over. People will get bored with the whole thing and leave us alone, which would be better for both of us."

"If it's upset you I'll take care of it." He may have dragged her into this, but he didn't want her name ruined. It was far crueler than he had any interest in being part of. He reasoned that this was not an emotional response to her distress, which wasn't to be allowed, but how he would react should they actually be involved.

"I don't want you to take care of anything." She told him. "I only told you because you asked me a question. I'm simply getting tired of being the center of town gossip. I don't enjoy it and I can't seem to escape it the last few months. If you go do anything you'll only add fuel to the fire, which is exactly what everyone wants so they can talk about it until they turn blue in the face. Just leave it alone and something else will come up to distract them from us."

"Very well." He said at last.

"What time do we need to be at town hall Saturday?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Eleven. We can leave right after we have everything signed."

"All right." She agreed. "That should save us some hassle if we escape without a party."

"Did you want one?" He asked.

"No." She replied without any real interest in the idea. "Although Granny may throw us a small one when we get back, so prepare yourself." He shrugged. He had expected some sort of social gathering over the occasion. If a small party was all he had to contend with he counted himself lucky. "I'll meet you there then?"

"That's fine." He agreed. She had continued on with her task and he had gone back to his office. She had left twenty minutes later after telling him she was done and vanished, he assumed to the inn.

He didn't see her again until he got to town hall two days later and wondered if his fear of her bolting had come true. But she was there right on time, in a prettily made white dress with a blue ribbon around the waist. It hadn't been made to be a wedding dress he was sure, but it was lovely on her all the same, no matter how simple the cut. The fabric was also expensive, with a pretty sheen to it, and he smiled at her in what he hoped was a warm manner when he saw Ruby and her grandmother trailing her. Her friend looked about ready to grab her and drag her right back outside at the slightest provocation and he wondered if the waitress had been the one he should have worried about for a moment.

Belle came up to him, smiling cheerfully, although it hardly reached her eyes for all she was forcing it. As she got close he leaned in and kissed her cheek affectionately. "You look beautiful." He told her, which was true. She hadn't held back on this. On top of the dress, her hair was down around her shoulders in loose curls, pinned about so they fell in a very alluring way, and she had makeup tastefully done. He couldn't remember having ever seen her with makeup, and generally she kept her hair up. It was a nice change.

"Thank you, Russell." She said, his first name sliding a bit oddly off her tongue. "Are you ready?"

"It seems I am as you've brought witnesses." He smiled at the other two women. "Good morning, Mrs. Lucas, Miss Lucas."

Ruby glared at him, saying nothing, but her grandmother was polite. "It's a pretty day for a wedding." She said with a smile. "I don't think you could have planned a nicer one."

"A spot of luck, nothing more." He assured her as he ushered them all toward the judge's office. He eyed the dress Ruby was in, which was only just on this side of scandalous. It hardly seemed appropriate for her friend's wedding, and when he turned his eyes away he saw annoyance flash in Belle's eyes for the briefest moment. Whether that was over him looking at her friend's lanky legs or that she felt the same about the red slinky dress was up in the air. Either way he wasn't going to start a fight over it. Certainly not when they were so close to getting this out of the way.

Thankfully, the whole thing was quick and to the point. From the time they walked in to the time they walked out barely fifteen minutes had passed. Belle kept her composure, smiling and feigning happiness as if she really was experiencing it, and he did his best to follow suite. It would be embarrassing if he were the one to ruin this instead of her when it was his idea to begin with. They both said their vows without trouble and the judge nodded, spoke, and signed the marriage license without batting an eye at the proceedings. When it was done he had kissed her cheek again and she smiled, pushing his shoulder lightly and telling him he was far too proper about being a husband teasingly. She played the whole thing off well and he quirked an eyebrow at her teasing, smiling at her, which set Mrs. Lucas at ease and had Ruby rolling her eyes at them both, which he suspected was a good thing rather than a bad one.

Belle wished her friends a fast farewell, telling them they had to make some sort of fake reservation, and then he ushered her into his car and they drove toward the edge of town. As soon as they were out of sight of the courthouse Belle slumped in her seat and the smile fell off her face. Turning around she looked back toward the large building. "Do you think they bought it?" She asked.

"Yes." He said, a great deal of tension draining out of him as they headed out of town toward the highway. "I do. You're quite the actress."

"Well, it was that or we get caught and I go to jail. That's pretty motivational."

"I suppose it is." He agreed, knowing now she had no way to turn back. She'd taken the last step she could and was now a hundred percent committed. "It's seems it's forever, dearie."

She sent him a dry look. "We decided on eighteen months."

"That one was a quip. I wasn't serious."

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose you expect me to serve you your meals and clean that castle of a house you have as well?"

"Not to mention launder my clothes." He added, stone faced.

She snorted, knowing very well he was teasing her. He found he liked that she understood his sense of humor. Perhaps the next year and a half wouldn't be so bad. He had thought about that of course, briefly, and while he wasn't overly eager to share his house with anyone, well, if he could live with Mila for six years, and he shuddered at the very thought of those memories, he could live with anyone. "Don't push your luck, Gold."

"Ah well, it was worth a try."

"You pretty much got as much as you're going to get out of me today." She told him as she rolled her window down a little to let in the fresh spring air. "I think getting a woman to agree to fraud in the form of matrimony is a bit much for one twenty-four hour period no matter how much money she owes you."

"Fair enough. We'll try this again tomorrow at…" He twisted his wrist up so he could see his watch. "Eleven forty three."

She huffed, a small smile gracing her face as she shut her eyes and turned her face into the wind. "Just shut up and drive. Eleven forty three, honestly." He smirked, amused, and caught sight of the Storybrooke welcome sign as they zipped by it. This really had gone much easier than he expected. The rest should be a breeze.

Author Note: So many nice reviews! I love it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was well past three in the morning and she was sitting quietly in the parlor with an old book in her hands. She wasn't actually reading it for all she'd picked it off one of the many bookshelves in his house after considerable deliberation over the choice, only had it open on the arm of the couch with her hand holding the pages open. She had taken a fondness to this spot in the house, as she could see the whole room from it. She had come down here hours ago to distract herself from her thoughts, which were much louder as she lay quietly in her bed with nothing to distract her, and knew there was no chance of going back to sleep. Since she came downstairs she had been sitting quietly on the sofa with her legs tucked up under her. Trying to quiet her mind she stared blankly at the empty fireplace, wishing it were cool enough for a fire so she could stare at the flames flickering and smell the logs burning. It would certainly be much more interesting than starting at the shadows of the room as her mind wove worry.

The last two months had been surprisingly easy. Not to say it hadn't been an adjustment living with a complete stranger, but it hadn't been nearly as hard or scary as she had imagined it would be when she first agreed to it. The first week had been the worst by far, but even that hadn't been so bad. It was just extremely awkward. Their trip to Cape Cod had been a fine, if lonely affair. He had left her largely on her own as he worked in the hotel room on his laptop. She had invited him to go exploring with her, thinking this might be a nice way to at least get to know one another a little, but he had turned her down as he became fixated on whatever it was he was doing. Thinking he was wasting his weekend away working through it she left him alone and went out on her own. She had never had a problem exploring by herself and wore herself out getting to know the area. It was a lovely town, and she had enjoyed sitting on the beach and watching the waves for most of one day. It had been the first quite time she'd had to herself in she didn't know how long. Certainly since her father got sick. She hadn't taken the disinterest personally either. This was a business deal, nothing more, and she was sure with his mindset he hadn't meant to snub her, or so she told herself.

When they got back to Storybrooke the town was still buzzing about their abrupt marriage and she did her best to ignore it. She would only add to the gossip if she reacted and she really hated to be the center of attention, especially this way. Really, she had always been a bit of a wallflower and all this attention was making her truly uncomfortable. So she focused on her own small world and kept her head up, refusing to bend under the pressure. She spent most of Monday afternoon after they got back unpacking the rest of her things and arranging her room to her liking. Gold left her alone, doing whatever it was he did to occupy his time, and she eventually finished and figured they might want to eat since they had skipped lunch to get back here in a timely fashion.

Standing up from beside an empty box she stretched her back out and grabbed the empty cardboard before heading downstairs. As she got to the bottom of the steps she perked up at the thought of exploring the kitchen and headed that way. Unsure of where the trash was she set the boxes down near the wall to ask him about where to dispose of them and began to poke around and open cupboards. Four large cabinets in and all she found were two pots, a single skillet, and a wooden spoon that appeared to have been badly burned at some point. Torn between bemusement and worry about what this might mean for her dinner she kept on.

Five minutes later he walked in, no doubt drawn from his home office by the noise, and found her staring into the nearly empty refrigerator as she held the door of it open. He had half a loaf of white bread, some turkey breast, sliced cheese, a nearly empty gallon of milk, and half a stick of butter. There wasn't even anything to put on the turkey and cheese sandwiches, which she was concerned he might be living on. No lettuce, no tomatoes, no condiments to be seen at all. She had never seen such a sad example of being a bachelor in her entire life. She glanced over when she heard the soft tap of his cane on the wooden floors and tried very hard not to laugh at this pathetic excuse of a larder. "Do you eat, Mr. Gold?"

He immediately got prickly as he came to the realization that she found he was unable to care for himself properly as an adult should. "Of course."

"What?"

"I eat." He repeated in annoyance.

"No, I mean what do you eat?" She looked back into the fridge before shutting it. "And what do you eat with?" She shook her head. "I found a very sad collection of cookware and none of it looks like it's ever been used before, except for the spoon which appears as if it may have been used as kindling for a fire. You know the stove has knobs? You don't have to add wood to cook with it."

He flicked at his well-tailored jacket, annoyed with her. "I do quite well on my own, Miss French."

"Hmm." She said, utterly unconvinced. "I suppose it's a good thing I haven't sold anything out of the house yet. I'll bring everything from my kitchen over tomorrow. It looks like I better serve you your meals if I don't want to starve to death myself, or die of malnutrition."

"Are you done, dearie?" He asked with exasperation.

She smiled in amusement and went back to looking through cabinets, estimating how much space she had here. "Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone about your sad lack of food. Although I have to tell you if you had dropped dead of starvation with all your money people here never would have forgotten it." He rolled his eyes and she suppressed another laugh. He turned to go, clearly having enough of her, but she stopped him. "Wait a second. What do you like to eat? I need to go grocery shopping and I don't want to get things you hate."

"I'm not picky." He told her primly as he left, his dignity in shambles.

"All right, but I'm reminding you of that if you complain about what I cook."

He muttered something she didn't hear, but suspected was unflattering toward her person, and couldn't help but laugh under her breath at him. It was good to know he was as much a man as any other male in Storybrooke. Once he was gone she considered making a shopping list before realizing they needed everything and simply dropped the idea as she started searching for the trash as he didn't seem to be happy enough with her to tell her where it was.

The next day she'd gone to the small supermarket in town after work and returned with enough groceries to keep them happy for at least a full week. She put everything away and then went to her house, thankful she had asked for a few weeks to get her life in order, and packed up the kitchen before moving her things into his. He didn't get home until nearly eight, and by that time she had food cooked and sitting on two plates in the stove to keep what she'd cooked warm. She had also been sure to pack them both lunch for the next day, because she was suspicious he didn't eat through the day by the state of his fridge and his lack of patronage at Granny's over the years.

He came into the kitchen, no doubt drawn by foreign smells of cooked food, or the light that was on, and looked around distrustfully. She was sitting calmly at the island in the center of the kitchen reading as she waited for him so they could eat and didn't look up as he walked in. She had already cleaned up the small mess she made cooking and had run out of things to do while she waited. "It's all right, Mr. Gold, I only brought in food into the house, not ravenous killer dogs." He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to intimidate her for that, but she was unmoved. She turned the page of her novel as she continued. "Are you hungry?"

There was a pause as he studied the question, searching for hidden meanings or tricks. "Yes." He finally answered as she waited patiently for him to decide.

"Okay." She shut her book after setting her bookmark inside of it and got up. "Do you always get home this late?"

"Not always." He said evasively.

She opened the stove and pulled the plates out with a towel so she wouldn't burn herself. "If you tell me your schedule it'll be easier to get things ready for me." She told him as she slid a plate to the other side of the island from where she was sitting. He said nothing as he eyed the plate. She could tell he was more than interested in the breaded chicken, broccoli, and boiled potatoes. It wasn't an elaborate meal by any means, but having no idea what he liked to eat she had gone for something simple and hoped for the best. She got her own plate out and set it where she had been sitting and then went to get them drinks. She had made them iced tea, as she did know he liked that beverage, filled some glasses, and sat back down. She had set out napkins and silverware over an hour ago when she was waiting for him to get back. He stood there looking at her and the food as she put her napkin in her lap politely. "It's not poisoned." She pointed out. "Murdering you wouldn't do me any good after signing that no doubt air tight prenup you drew up." She hadn't bothered to read it too closely. There was no point as she knew he wouldn't change anything on it.

He sent her another suspicious look before sitting down on the stool. "You didn't need to wait for me."

She shrugged. "I don't like eating by myself." She told him honestly. "Half the fun of cooking is enjoying it with someone."

He put his napkin in his lap as he took that in. "Thank you for making dinner."

"You're welcome." She said cheerfully, pleased she wasn't going to eat alone even if she was going to eat with a man that was as good as a stranger. "I'm still not doing your laundry though."

His lips curled up and his tension drained away. "Very well." He agreed. "About the cleaning-"

"I swear I will let you starve." She told him merrily right before she put a bite of potato in her mouth. His eyes glittered in amusement as she volleyed the teasing back. She wondered, in that moment, if he was really as bad as everyone said or if people simply took what he said the wrong way. The rest of the meal was largely quiet as they got used to sharing space with one another, but she noted that he cleaned his plate. She felt good about that, that he liked what she had made, and she finished a minute or so after him. He was nice enough to sit with her while she finished her own meal, which she also appreciated.

She thought it possible that sharing dinners was what finally broke through the oddness of the whole situation. They didn't talk overly much the first week while they sat together, but slowly they began to share little things about their days, which helped them both relax around one another no matter how insignificant those chats were, or how stilted the conversation. It helped too, when she came back from the grocery store the following Sunday and found there was a laundry basket in front of her door with a neat pile of her clean, folded clothes. That had been nice of him and the ice had finally broken between them, even if it was more of a spider web effect rather than glacial splitting.

The following two months had been fine. Gold was a pleasant enough housemate. He left her alone to her own devices, and honestly was gone so much they didn't see each other more than an hour or two a day. He didn't pry into her personal life and she didn't ask overly much about him, which seemed to be just how he wanted things. While she certainly wondered what he got up to when he was gone all the time, especially after hearing something about Ashley's baby, which made her terribly nervous, but turned out to be nothing but a rumor as the young woman was walking around with the infant a few days after they started, she respected his privacy.

She had her own things to worry about anyway. Regina Mills, who had never seemed to like her for who knew what reason, was really getting on her last nerve. After they got back from Cape Cod the woman had been in the library the next day and gone after her like an angry, well manicured shrew from hell. She reminded her that she was now fully out of personal days, was in fact one over her limit for the year, and that if she missed another day of work would be dismissed from her position. She had been taken aback by that, sure that she was allowed time for the death of a family member. When she had told the other woman that the situation had only spiraled further downward.

Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes of the other woman threatening her in every manner possible she lost patience and circled around the woman to get rid of her. She never overly enjoyed tricking people with word play, but she was more than capable if the situation called for it. Within five minutes of starting her own, subtle, sweetly polite retaliation she had Regina nicely turned about and having no clue how it had happened. This only enraged the woman further and she stormed out of the library in a rage of clicking high heels and glinting, mascara covered eyes. It certainly won her no favors getting the mayor flustered, but she could really only take so much.

Two weeks later the woman was back with a litany of complaints from the way she was running the library, to having not taken care of the faulty wiring which was so outside her budget it was absurd to even bring up, to what books they were picking at her book club, and reading hour on Friday evenings for the children of Storybrooke. She pointed out that she had no say in what the adults decided to pick every month for the reading club as they voted on it themselves and she had no input whatsoever. All she did was provide them with a room to meet in to discuss it, and while she was a member she stayed out of the picking as she felt she got far more opportunity to read than anyone else and they deserved to pick what they read in their limited spare time. She then asked Mills exactly what was wrong with fairytales, the theme of the season, and got no reasonable reply to that either, mostly because there was no reasonable reply. She once again got rid of the woman, who all but promised her removal from her position, and shook her head as she left. The mayor had no real way to fire her as she had a contract to be there and had in no way violated it despite what she said.

Regardless, the stress of being constantly bombarded by the other woman was starting to wear on her. On top of everything else she was dealing with she couldn't sleep and had become a bit of an insomniac, which was why she was sitting down in the parlor at three in the morning. It probably didn't help that she still felt strange sleeping in this house either, which was far too big and she swore echoed at night. "Dearie?" She nearly jumped out of her skin at the abrupt call. Glancing over she saw Gold was standing in the doorway, still in the same outfit he'd had on that day, sans jacket and tie. She had never, after two months of living with him, seen him dressed in anything so casual. The first few buttons on his shirt were even undone. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." She answered. "Why are you creeping around in the dark?"

"This is my house." He pointed out as he stepped closer. She supposed that was true. If he wanted to creep around she shouldn't bother him about it. "Why aren't you sleeping? It's the middle of the night."

"Why aren't you sleeping?" She tossed back tiredly as she turned her attention back to the book.

"My leg."

She glanced over when he actually gave her a real answer. He sat down on a chair near her, his favorite she suspected, and stretched his leg out, resting his cane against the chair. Feeling the need to reciprocate his honesty she answered. "I couldn't fall asleep." He relaxed a little into the seat, getting comfortable. "Does your leg hurt a lot?"

"Some days worse than others."

"Yes then?" She asked, having learned how to interpret some of what he said. "What did you do to it?"

He blatantly ignored that question. "Why can't you sleep?"

She didn't want to answer that question and shook her head, refusing to lie, but refusing to give him the information either. He shrugged without concern and she went back to looking at the words on the page, not really seeing them. She made her own change in conversation. "You do have a pretty house, Gold." She kept her eyes on the room at large. "Did it come like this or have you added onto it?" Honestly, she couldn't remember what the old Victorian had looked liked before he moved into it. No one had been in it for years, as the previous owner who had moved away years before refused to settle on any offer lower than his asking price, which no one could afford.

"It was like this. I've had it fixed up, there was no real choice with as old as it was, and I added to the garden in the back."

"Why is it pink?" She asked, really wanting to know.

"It's salmon." She turned her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "It's a historical color."

She laughed softly. "So is brown, or forest green, or navy blue. Seriously, why salmon?"

"I find it aesthetically pleasing if you must know." She grinned and he sent her a look. "Satisfied?"

"I really am." His own lip twitched up. "Do you want some tea? It appears neither of us are going to sleep in the near future."

"Please."

She nodded and stood up. "I'll be right back." She padded into the kitchen, wishing she had put on socks since she had an odd surety that she was going to eventually find a splinter in these wood floors no matter how well they were made, and put together a tea tray. Ten minutes later she walked back into the sitting room and set it on the table. She made his tea the way he liked it in the silly chipped cup he favored and handed it to him. Why he insisted on using what she had all but destroyed was beyond her. All she knew was that one day the tea set had ended up back at the house. She suspected because she had ruined it for selling by chipping one of the cups. That made sense to her. What didn't was why he used the cup. She thought it likely it was a way of teasing her for being clumsy. There was really no way for her to hide that at all and she was sure she was making a nuisance of herself around here with the way she flailed about injuring herself and destroying things. "Thank you, dearie."

"You're welcome." She said as she got her own cup. Taking it she sat down on the corner of the sofa again and curled her legs up under her. She held her tea more than drank it, but he was nice enough not to mention her obvious distraction, instead he surprised her with understanding.

"Eventually it won't hurt so much."

She glanced over at him sharply. "What?"

"I know you were close with your father. It's hard to loose family." She looked down into her tea, embarrassed that he saw her feelings when she was trying so hard to hide them. "It gets easier in some ways. Easier not having them with you."

Slowly, she nodded a little, accepting that he was trying to be kind. "I just want to be able to sleep again." She told him truthfully. "I can't seem to since he died."

"It'll come eventually." He told her. "Or you'll go mad from sleep deprivation."

She snorted out a small laugh and looked back up at him. "Reassuring. You have a really twisted sense of humor you know."

"You're the one laughing." He told her with a slight smile, a definite step up from a mere curling at the corner of his mouth. "It seems you do as well."

"True enough." She took a sip of her tea sensing that he was willing to talk about more than trivialities tonight for a reason she couldn't understand. "So… you don't sleep, you don't eat, you don't date. What do you do with yourself, Mr. Gold? Other than amass your name sake that is."

"Collect mouthy, inquisitive wives it seems."

She smiled again. "At least I'm not dull."

"No, you're a storm of clumsy chaos."

She was amused, and she knew he wasn't saying it to be cruel. He was teasing in his own warped, friendly way. "I think you needed a force of nature in your life. You spend entirely too much time in your head."

"Thank goodness you've taken it on yourself to help me." He said sarcastically.

"You're very lucky." She informed him with a small smile. "I think I make a lovely spouse."

His lip twitched again. "Well, I have no complaints other than you trying to destroy everything."

"That's gravities fault, not mine." She defended staunchly. "It's always had it out for me."

"We all have our burdens to bear." She rolled her eyes as she sipped her tea. They sat there quietly for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Do you like the house?" She glanced over at him in confusion, her head tilting in question. "Are you comfortable here?"

She wasn't sure why he cared if she was comfortable, but he was oddly sincere. "It's a beautiful house." She told him.

"But you aren't comfortable." He translated.

She sighed and looked back down at the tea, which was more than half gone. "I hardly fit do I?"

"Fit?"

"You've thrown a storm of clumsy chaos into a house full of china and priceless antiques. It's quite brave of you, but I'm constantly terrified I'm going to destroy something I know you can't replace."

"There's no need for you to worry about that." He told her. She said nothing to that and he pushed on. "I realize this is hardly how you imagined your marriage to be." She glanced up at him. "I'm not so cruel as to want you more unhappy than need be."

"I told you I would do this." She said, thinking he was worried she was going to back out even though she'd made indication that she would, even though she had married him. "I'm not going to break my promise."

"I never said you were." He told her. "But nearly two years is a long time for you to feel out of place. You're a more pleasant housemate than I could have hoped for, I want you comfortable as well."

That was rather a lot nicer than she expected even after demanding niceness. She wasn't entirely what to say about it, but it was good of him all the same. "I'll do my best then." He sighed and she knew he wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she didn't know what else to say about it. She couldn't just make herself feel comfortable because he asked, that wasn't how things worked. "If it makes you feel any better I never really felt like I belonged anywhere." As soon as that tumbled out of her mouth she not only wished she had never said it to him, but that she had said it at all. She had never told anyone that before. However, when he gave her a penetrating look all she could do was forge on as she stared down at her tea tiredly. "So really I'm as comfortable here as I've been anywhere." Except possibly the library, but that was where she worked, not where she lived. She also suspected she would feel that way in any library.

He was silent as he watched her and she sipped at her tea, doing her best not to fidget as he watched her. Finally, he broke the silence. "Is that why you sold your house so fast? You didn't like it?"

"I sold the house because I couldn't afford it." She told him again. "That's all there was to it."

"It belonged to your father." He pointed out. "I think there was more to it than that."

"No." She disagreed. "I don't know why everyone keeps telling me it mattered. It doesn't matter. It was just a house, not a person." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just not sentimental."

Once again he said nothing, and she was rather relieved he wasn't going to argue with her about that the way Ruby and her grandmother always tried to. Or worse, try to make her feel guilty, or sad, or reminisce about her parents to try to get an emotional response out of her. Why people kept trying to do that she didn't know. It didn't make her feel better at all. It just embarrassed her to no end. "In that case I'm glad you sold it so quickly." He said. "The Nolen's seem pleased to finally be out of their loft."

"I would be too if I had a seven year old running about with as much energy as Emma has."

He shrugged as he sipped at his tea. "You sold it for far too little."

Of course he had somehow found out how much they gave her for it. "I made plenty of money from it. It would have cost me more to wait for a higher offer and pay the taxes and mortgage on it during the interim. Besides, that was all they could afford."

"That should be their problem, not yours."

"It's no one's problem now." She said reasonably. "As I've sold the house and they've been in it for over a month. I made quite a bit off the estate sale as well, more than I need now."

"There's no such thing." He informed her. "I think your current situation proves that."

She sent him a look. "If I end up in another situation like this I think I can simply assume I'm insane and everything is a delusion I've conjured up in my head while in a nice padded cell."

"You and that optimism, thinking it would be padded."

"You won't even let me have a padded cell in my own hypothetic situation. You're so mean to me."

"I'm a true beast. The rumors must be true."

"Oh please." She replied as she took another sip of her tea. "You're a man, just a normal man."

"I'm anything but normal, dearie, something you should be grateful for."

"I think you're more grateful than me. You hate competition. That would be one crazy smack down if there was another one of you."

He chuckled and she gave him a dazzling smile. "What?"

"Nothing, I just knew I could get you to laugh eventually." He raised an eyebrow and she watched him. "You have a nice laugh. You should do it more."

He looked at her then as if she were some odd sort of creature, like no one had ever said anything like that to him before. Eventually, he broke the silence. "I have few reasons to laugh."

That tugged at her heartstrings a little, although she didn't know why. He holed himself up alone all the time. If he went out and talked with people he would have more reasons to laugh, but there were so many things she didn't know about him. There could be any number of reasons he was the way he was. Her mother had told her once, when she was very small and they were still in Australia that everyone had a reason for acting the way they did. She didn't even remember who had upset her, most likely another child from school, but she did remember what her mother said because it had proven true time and again throughout her life. People always had reasons for acting the way they acted. She should know that better than anyone having done what she had to clear a debt.

She continued to smile at him softly. "Then I'm glad I gave you a reason." That also stumped him and she thought he really had spent far too much time by himself. Before he could reply to that the grandfather clock he had out in the hallway began to chime the hour. She sighed at the forth chime and finished her tea in two large gulps. "I think I better try to sleep at least a little bit or I'm going to be a grump in the morning." She stood up, wondering if sleep was really going to happen. "Leave the tea there when you're done, I'll get it tomorrow." She smiled at him again. "Goodnight, Mr. Gold."

"Miss French." He replied as he stared at the cup.

She tsked at him. "You really must break the habit of calling me that. It's Mrs. Gold thank you very much. I'll have you know I'm a married woman now and won't put up with such nonsense." He smiled grudgingly and her eyes twinkled. "Or you could always try Belle, since it's my name and all."

"Away with you, imp."

She laughed as she left the room, amused with the silly name calling. Going back to her room she shut herself in and lay down. She thought she really needed to start sleeping again as she stared up at the ceiling. She really was going to get sleep deprivation if she didn't. Sighing, she reached over and pulled her pillow over her face. All that did was make it harder to breathe. Clearly, she needed to try a different approach. She would try something else when she wasn't quite so tired.

Author's Note: So many reviews! I'm so happy! Oh, and someone commented on Gold calling Gary, Gaston in the last chapter and thought it was a typo. It's not. I made his last name Gaston in this, so his name is, in fact, Gary Gaston. Sorry for the confusion!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Sitting in the back of his shop he twirled the head of his cane idly in one hand as he sat staring at his ledgers. He should be working, should be focused, should be figuring out how to rip that last dock out from under one of his few remaining rivals so he could have full control of the harbor, but he was distracted. Distracted by his wife. The thought had him wrinkling his nose in disgust. He should be in no way distracted by one Miss Annabelle French… Gold… French-Gold? Bugger it all to hell. He couldn't even get her bloody name right, whatever it was now. Gold, she'd just changed it to Gold so it looked better. Of course she had, because she was thinking about the whole thing in the proper way and… damn it! There he was off again! This had to stop!

Grumbling, he tapped his cane on the ground in annoyance, a bad habit he had picked up not long after he had to start relying on the damn stick. He should not be thinking about her, especially not at work where he had things to do. He had been trying to get the harbor for the last five years and had been making good progress on it. True, it had taken time, and money, but he had no problem spending money where it would pay off later. The harbor, the biggest provider of income in this town would certainly pay off, even if it did require a great deal of upkeep. Still, that was the nature of a dock and so he had no complaints and was sure to set aside funds for emergency repairs every month just in case. That was what he should be thinking about, how to set up a strike to buy out the last of it. It was only a matter of time before the owner had a spot of bad luck and he should be ready. He should be setting things up to quicken the process, to pull the rug right out from under the man before he even knew an assault was coming.

But instead of working on that he was thinking about Belle. To be more specific he was worrying about Belle, which was even more irksome to him. She was a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of herself. It wasn't his problem she wasn't sleeping, it was hers. She should be cognizant enough to recognize that this was part of the grieving process and either deal with it herself or go see a doctor about it. But she didn't do either, which irked him. It irked him that she had gotten him involved in caring about it even though she hadn't mentioned her lack of sleep after that one chat they had over a month ago now. At the time he thought it would pass in another week or so, but as he'd caught her wandering the house in the middle of the night on more than one occasion, and seen the light on under her door at all hours, it clearly wasn't getting any better.

Even worse, the lack of rest was really starting to show. She had dark circles under her eyes, which couldn't be put down to loosing sleep with a new spouse. She was also loosing some of her spunk, an aspect of her personality he found he rather enjoyed if he were honest with himself. He liked that she was generally a happy and cheerful woman. He liked that she wasn't bothered by his dry wit or sarcastic comments. He especially liked that she could tell when he was joking. When she started to miss the cues in their conversations he knew something had to change or he really was going to have her go mad from not sleeping, or have her pass out somewhere in public.

He didn't need that at all. The rumors had only just started to die down about them. The last thing he wanted were more starting, because he was sure everyone would blame him for this somehow as they blamed him for everything even if he had not one thing to do with whatever it was they were blaming him for. To be fair he usually did, but not _always_. Even he wasn't that good at manipulation. And he didn't need anyone questioning how well he cared for his wife. No matter how fake the marriage was he was taking very good care of the girl while she was with him. She had a nice home, plenty of food, and without having to pay rent or utilities plenty of money to buy herself whatever she wanted with her own income.

He made sure she had her space and didn't protest when Ruby came over, even though the woman drove him near to mad. At least Belle asked prior to inviting her to visit to give him some forewarning. And he swore if he heard one more story about the waitresses libidinous adventures he may well jam a pen in his ear to burst his ear drums. Really, after the first dozen half heard stories it simply became uninteresting and insipid. He was starting to worry about Mrs. Lucas' state of mind if she was planning on giving her business to her granddaughter. Already he was preparing himself for a completely different owner because he could see the writing on the wall. Unless the waitress had an epiphany and started taking life seriously she would run the inn and the diner right into the ground in less than three months. Someone who couldn't take their own lives seriously certainly couldn't do any better with a business no matter how lucrative it was when it was handed off to them.

Shaking his head he set his cane against the desk and reached into a drawer where he had put his lunch. This was getting out of hand. He would eat lunch and forget about Miss French for a few minutes. Once she was out of his head he was sure he could keep her out. Opening the brown paper bag he pulled out items and was pleased to find a bottle of water, carrot sticks, a Tupperware container full of grilled chicken and rice, and a few oatmeal and raisin cookies. He hummed in pleasure as he looked at the cookies. He hadn't known she had baked cookies for him. She had surprised him with the treat on purpose he was sure and…. Bloody hell.

Growling in disgust, he tossed the cookies back down on his desk next to the rest of the meal she had so thoughtfully packed for him. Grabbing his cane he walked out into the main part of the shop and left through the front door, flipping the sign to closed before locking up behind himself. That done he shoved his key back into his pocket and headed across the street. Several people glanced at him curiously as he went, because he went nowhere without purpose, and he stoutly ignored the lot of them.

Three blocks later and he got to his destination and walked into the well-kept building across from the diner. Going up a single set of stairs he walked into a small, clean waiting room full of comfortable chairs and went to the door in the back. He had no idea if Hopper was already with a client, but he didn't much care. If he cared he would have called him on the phone. As it was he wanted this taken care of and would be sure it was face to face. That always got better results for him.

There was a brief pause, which was filled by a single low bark, before the door opened. Whoever the psychologist expected to see it wasn't him. There was a blank look of surprise on his face as he stood holding the door. He glanced behind the man, seeing no one in his office save the Dalmatian the man cared for so much. "Mr. Gold?" He asked, flabbergasted. "Are you here for the rent?"

He sent him an annoyed look. "Why does everyone ask that?"

"Well because you-" the man changed his mind about finishing that sentence quickly. "Never mind, would you like to talk?"

"Yes." He agreed, all but pushing the man out of the way as he stepped into his office. He took in the place quickly, his eyes darting around and taking everything in quickly, making an inventory.

In the corner the spotted dog wagged his tail at him happily and he wondered if the animal could sense that he liked four legged creatures much better than most people. He suspected so as dogs generally could. Hopper shut the door behind them and sat down in one of the chairs sitting and facing one another. Between them was a table covered in glasses, stress balls, and a box of tissues. On the other side of the table was a comfortable, overstuffed couch.

Taking all this in he slowly picked the other chair and sat down. There was no need to try to intimidate the man, not yet. He was a good tenant and he was here to get something as opposed to taking something. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Belle isn't sleeping."

"Belle?" He asked, clearly expecting whatever this was to be about him.

"Yes." He said dryly. "Formerly Annabelle French? My wife? Perhaps you've met her once or twice?"

"Of course I know her."

"Excellent." He said, glad they were both now talking about the same person. "She isn't sleeping. She needs to start again."

"I'm not a psychiatrist, Mr. Gold, I'm a psychologist. I can't prescribe her any sort of medication to help her sleep if that's what you're asking-"

"She doesn't need medication." He interrupted. "This isn't a medical issue. If it were I would have gone to Whaler."

"What sort of issue is it?"

"I assume it has to do with her father." He answered.

"You assume?"

He sent the man a look. "Can you get her to start sleeping again or not?"

"That's entirely up to her." Hopper answered. "But I'd be happy to see her if that's what you're asking."

"That's what I'm asking." He assured him as he kept his hand on his cane.

The man twisted about and grabbed a book off his desk. He saw it was a planner and he opened it up. "When can she come? I have an opening on Friday-" He glanced up and caught him frowning. Friday was three days away. "Or- or this evening."

"Good." He said, satisfied. "Be sure she gets here."

Hopper was writing as he spoke, mumbling to himself. "And be sure she-" He glanced up when he realized what he was writing. "Be sure she gets here?"

This man was asking him to repeat himself far too much. "That is what I said."

"Why would she not be here if you're making the appointment for-" He stopped as he worked it out himself. "She has no idea you're here does she?"

"Of course not." He said calmly. "She wouldn't come if I told her to."

Hopper sent him the most pathetically helpless look. "Mr. Gold, I can't make anyone come to therapy. And to be perfectly frank if they don't want to be here nothing I can do is going to be helpful. You have to want to work on things."

He stared at the man unblinkingly for a long few moments. The psychologist fidgeted. Finally, he spoke. "How do you like this office space, Dr. Hopper?"

He frowned in confusion at the abrupt topic shift. "It's very nice. Why do you-"

He cut him off. "And the rent? You find it reasonable?"

All at once the psychologist caught up with him. "There's no need to threaten me with eviction."

"Oh now, whose making a threat?" He asked with a smirk.

The other man flinched noticeably at his implication. This was in no way a threat. Threats implied that he wouldn't follow through immediately. He really had no issue tossing the man out on his ears. He always made sure his rental agreements were very specific. He had the right to raise the rent whenever he wanted, by a maximum of fifty dollars. Of course, he could increase it fifty dollars on every payment, which most people failed to realize until it was to late. He had no issue waiting them out if they decided to be stubborn about things. Eventually he would always win out. Hopper sighed quietly. "At least tell me why she wouldn't come if you asked her to."

"Because she thinks she's fine."

"Maybe she is." He suggested.

"She hasn't had a full nights sleep since she moved in. I don't know how long she went before that. She wanders the house at night or tries to read to occupy herself, which she can't manage because she's so tired. Does it sound as if she's fine to you?"

"No." The man admitted. "It doesn't."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then get her here and get her to sleep."

"If you don't think you can get her to come why do you think I can?" Hopper asked. "You're her husband. I barely know her."

"Aren't you trained to talk people into things?"

"I'm trained to help people."

"Same thing."

"It's not at all the same thing." He disagreed anxiously, trying to make him understand the quandary he had thrown at him. Considering he didn't care about that, only that Belle started sleeping, he didn't much care.

"In this case it is." He stood up. "Make it happen, Dr. Hopper. I'm sure you have it in you somewhere. Dig deep." He headed for the door.

"Mr. Gold, you're really not listening to what I'm telling you."

He didn't have time for excuses and worries. "She's at the library until five thirty."

The therapist tried to say something else, but he ignored him and left. He was sure the man would get this done with his business space on the line. There was nowhere else for him to relocate in Storybrooke, well there was, but he owned them all so really there wasn't. If he didn't get Belle in here he would deal with that tomorrow. Until then he would give the man space to work.

Returning to his shop he sat back down to eat his lunch. He felt better now, much more settled about the whole thing. It might take a few sessions, if anything he heard about therapy could be believed, but she would start sleeping again and he could stop worrying about it. Content that he had taken care of her as best he could and with as little hassle on his part as could have been expected he enjoyed his lunch. Truly, Belle had a gift for cooking.

The rest of his day was more productive, and feeling as if he had a solid framework from which to begin really planning he left his shop at five. He normally closed at that time, but he generally stayed later to work on other things. But today he didn't have a legal cases and rent for his properties wasn't due for another week. Deciding to give himself a small break of sorts he went home early. He wanted to be sure Belle didn't get home at her normal time. If she did he would have to go deal with Hopper, and no doubt put out a small fire on top of it. He doubted Belle would take his interfering well, which was why he sent someone else to interfere. He hardly needed her angry with him when everything was going so well at home.

True, the woman was a low-level disaster zone, and how such a small person could be so destructive was beyond him, but aside from her having all the natural grace of a drunken rhino he was enjoying her company. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected to enjoy her company. He had been alone so long he had forgotten what it was like to live with another person. Not that he had ever really lived with anyone he got along with before, with the exception of his son of course. He tried not to think about that any more, and with equal success as he did about Belle's sleeping. It would only upset him as it always did when he thought about being so far away from him.

At any rate Belle was certainly far easier to get along with than he had imagined. She was self sufficient, quiet when she wasn't dropping or destroying things, and didn't pester him. She respected his boundaries and kept her nose out of his business. He thought if Mila had been this way their marriage may well have worked, even with her running about on him with the same discretion and decorum as Ruby had. Oh, he would have hated himself for letting her do it, but he would have for Bae's sake if she simply had the good grace to be polite to him in front of their son. But no, she couldn't even do that much. The continual disrespect, the all out hostility of his old home, well that hadn't been good for the boy in any way. When Mila asked for a divorce with all the sweetness of a viper he had given her one with absolutely no fight. If she wasn't willing to make it work, well, there was no hope for it at all. Add on that he had long ago lost what little love he ever had for her and he was relieved to be done with the whole thing.

What he hadn't anticipated when it was all said and done was that he would somehow loose custody of the one person on the planet he loved. He had resigned himself to sharing his son with her, and as much as he hated it, as much as he didn't really trust her with him, he was still her son. But Mila was spiteful to the last. She'd secured full custody of him, despite the very nasty and brutal fight he put on in the courts. He knew very well, as much as he hated to admit it for no other reason than it was one day going to be terribly painful for Bae to realize, Mila had no interest in him. If she hadn't known how much he wanted his son, how terribly important he was, she would have simply left him on his doorstep before she frolicked off to whore herself out elsewhere.

He suspected, strongly, that the only reason she'd even had Bae was to ensure he did marry her. At the time he had by no means been anywhere as wealthy as he was now, but he had been stable with a nice flat and a steady job. Mila had liked that, if not him, and as time went on what he had thought was a lucky catch on his part turned out to be no more real than his current marriage with Belle. Mila had played him easily and well. He had been drawn in by her looks and charm, and fully hooked when she told him she was pregnant. At least he was sure the boy was his. They'd gone a two-week holiday when that happened and the week after she'd gotten sick and stayed at the flat while she recovered. She had also been faithful to him through the first year, no doubt for her own purposes rather than out of any real affection. That of course, hadn't lasted long.

As it was she had wrenched the boy from him with great satisfaction. Unable to get anything else from the courts he had tried to guilt the woman into letting him see his son whenever possible. It soon became clear that she wasn't going to allow it unless she was in the right mood, and after a year of fighting he had left the country to start over. He had gone back and forth the first six years, trying to see his son on holidays and his birthday, but eventually Mila had threatened to have him arrested if he came back again after one nasty spat they'd had over her new, and in his opinion dangerous lover. He had been forced to accept only phone calls from his son, who he now hadn't seen in person in over three years.

Just thinking about it had him in a temper. No thirteen year old should be without his father. Especially without a father that loved him and wanted to be part of his life. By the time he pulled into his driveway he was in a mood about the whole thing again and went into the house telling himself he needed to get hold of himself before Belle got home. She hadn't done anything to earn his temper and he had no particular desire to let her see it.

Taking a calming breath he paused by his entryway table and tossed his wallet and keys on top of it as he always did. No sooner did they come to a rest than there was a pounding knock on the front door. He paused as he stood there, confused by the sound as no one ever came here. Turning his head toward his stained glass doors he saw whoever the man was, he was tall and he pivoted toward him. Taking two steps back the way he had come he opened the door and raised an eyebrow. Standing before him was, well not the last person he expected to see as he had been expecting no one, but certainly not his first guess.

"I'm Gary Gaston-" The hulk started.

"I know who you are." He cut off in annoyance. He hadn't come home early so he could deal with more people. "What do you want?"

The man gathered himself together in a rush, trying to straighten his leather jacket as he held a rose in the same hand, which made the task amazingly awkward a procedure. "I've come to get Belle back."

Rolling his eyes he stepped back and slammed the door shut in the man's face, nearly taking his nose off with the move. Gaston could not be serious. There was moment of confused silence on the other side of the door before he knocked again, so hard the windows rattled in their frame as he was stepping farther in the house. If this man didn't go away he was going to stop being polite. He knocked a third time and he knew the man wasn't smart enough to just go. Growling a curse under his breath he turned and wrenched the door back open. "_What?_"

The man glared at him in what he assumed was supposed to be an intimidating manner, but only made him cross-eyed. "I don't think you heard me. I've come-"

"To get Belle back, yes." He said. "Unfortunately you're several months late as we've been married since late May."

The man's face darkened. "She's going to see reason. I won't let her waste her life on you when she has a better option." His eyelid twitched but the man continued on, unaware of the danger he was merrily skipping in front of. "She would have come back to me if you hadn't taken advantage of her vulnerability-"

And he'd had enough for the day. Taking another step forward he lashed out fast as lightning with his cane. He jabbed Gaston directly in the stomach with the tip and he let out a gurgling grunt and as staggered back. Moving forward fluidly he jabbed him a second time in the neck as he half bent over from the first blow. The man flailed backward, dropping the rose half a second before his foot hit empty air over the steps, having run out of porch to move on. The man fell backward onto the cement walkway hard, no doubt knocking the air further out of himself and bruising his back. He stepped to the edge of the porch and stared down at Gaston with a smirk. The man was still trying to breathe around the new injury when he started to speak. "Belle isn't home at the moment. Which will make it tremendously difficult for you to rescue her from me as you seem set on doing." He said as he leaned on his cane casually. "And if you ever come here again not only will I rip your house right out from under you I'll be sure you're fired as well."

He managed to gurgle. "You can't get me fired."

"I own the building the construction office is in. Your boss owes me hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans for all the equipment. Do you really think he'll keep you on if I threaten to take all that away? Do you think anyone in this town will hire you afterwards when they know what I'll do if they decide to employ you?" Gaston looked up at him, stunned stupider, as he lay prone on the ground. He flashed the younger man a vicious smile as he stood towering over him on the porch. "Belle is mine. Belle is mine because you couldn't keep her. It's hardly my fault you lost her, or that she found a man that can… satisfy her in ways you couldn't." He was enjoying this now, especially with Gaston turning nearly purple with rage at his implications.

"You rat bastard."

"Tut, tut, dearie." He said condescendingly. "I'm not the one trying to steal another man's wife." He glanced down and spotted the rose and his irritation only grew. The man had snapped one of his prized blossoms off one of the front buses. He recognized the bloom without any trouble as he spent a great deal of his free time in his garden and was intimately acquainted with it. He was the only one in town with this variety of rose now that Moe's flower shop was shut down. "Or trying to win her over with a rose from her husband's garden."

"You stole her from me."

"I didn't steal anything." He told the other man. "She came to me willingly."

Gaston finally managed a full breath. "You have something on her then."

"I have as much on her as she has on me." He told the other man, which was completely true. The man wouldn't read into it either. He wasn't the brightest of bulbs. "Now, you are going to get up and go, and you're not going to come back. If I so much as see you I will ruin your life in this town and I assure you I won't loose one wink of sleep over it." Gaston glared at him as he turned to go back inside. He paused briefly and turned back. Bending down he picked up the long stemmed rose and studied it as he spoke to the other man, giving far more attention to the flower than him. "And if you upset my wife in any way, if she utters one syllable about you harassing her, if I hear one rumor that you're so much as looking at her the wrong way, well, no need to go over it all again is there?" With that he went back into the house and shut and locked the door, uncaring if the man lay there all night or not, as long as he was gone by morning.

Going into the parlor he paused at one of his many cabinets and opened it. Pulling out a crystal vase he shut the cupboard and moved into the kitchen. Filling the thin vase, made for a single flower, he set the rose inside and placed it on the counter. He had seen Belle admiring his rose bushes. She had never picked one, or asked if she could, and as much as he liked them he would have let her take one if she really wanted. However, all she had done was wander around the backyard admiring the area. He had watched her as she went from his bedroom window when he happened to glance out and see her. He had thought she was going to inspect the pool, something he had and never used, but she barely glanced at it. Instead, she took her time moving about and touching the flowers with careful hands, looking them over for size and health. Having grown up in a flower shop he had no doubt she knew what to look for.

When he saw her smiling at the large roses bushes, smelling the blossoms with closed eyes to better catch the scent, he had been pleased with himself. He had learned to garden from his grandmother, one of the few people in his life who had truly and deeply cared for him, and had been keeping a garden of one kind or another since she passed away when he was in his early twenties. When he got here and had all the space he had gone full tilt at it. He had nothing else to do, and with a sudden absence of parental duties felt out of sorts and had entirely too much free time.

It had taken him years of attention and tending toward the bushes to get them to the size they were, as they were temperamental plants. The harsh winters of New England hardly helped his cause, but his persistence had paid off and now they overtook a large portion of his property. And when he saw Belle admiring them he had been pleased all the way down to his core. It was nice having someone realize how much work had gone into something he valued. He would be lying to, if he hadn't enjoyed watching her as much as she enjoyed the blossoms. For a few minutes he forgot that he shouldn't be thinking of her as anything but part of a deal to secure his residency. He forgot she was little more than a stranger living in his house. He forgot he should be keeping his distance as much emotionally as physically. He forgot everything as he watched her all put floating around the garden looking for all the world like a princess in her courtyard.

Then, of course, she'd ruined the whole image when she tripped over something, most likely the air around her feet caught her off guard again, and she stumbled badly. Her arms pin wheeled as she caught her balance and he chuckled at the sight, charmed by her inability to do anything gracefully. The sound caught him off guard and he jumped a little before shaking himself and moving away from the window. He had gone back to what he was doing and largely forgotten about the incident.

As he looked at the flower he realized he should have let her cut a few to bring in. Fall was coming quickly, and soon they would be gone. They might as well enjoy the blooms as much as they could while they were here. It might make her feel a bit more at home as well, as she was used to be surrounded by flowers, which he knew she was struggling with. Her admission about that had unsettled him, and having moved here from another country he really could understand the feeling of not fitting even if he put almost no effort into doing so. He knew being away from her father, her family, wasn't helping her either.

And, truthfully, he was starting to feel guilty about this deal. He had never once felt guilty about business, as that's what it was, but something about this arrangement was becoming distressing to him. He knew it was ridiculous, he knew he was allowing himself to become friendly with her, which he had flatly promised himself would not happen, but he could hardly help himself. As hard as he was fighting it the part of him that was so very human was drawn to her and her companionship. He had been too long alone, he knew it, but he was still fighting the natural urge to have a connection with another person. The problem was Belle made it too easy to connect with. For all she was giving him space she was also very open to talking with him when he wanted, somehow she could always tell when those times were, and had an annoying habit of making him either smile or laugh with her quick wit and word play.

With a sigh he leaned against his cane as he stared out at the back garden. He thought, if he could just get her to settle down, to get her back to sleeping again, he would feel better about the whole thing. He didn't like the idea that being here and making this deal had made her life worse. He didn't want to do to her what Mila had done to him, even if this wasn't a real marriage and they weren't involved. He didn't want to hurt her. The girl simply didn't deserve it. She'd done nothing, in the end, but try to help her father. He could respect that choice because family was important. Family was the most important thing there was. Why else would he work so hard to be sure his son had a good and stable future? His money meant little to him at the end of the day except it would help Bae. He had made more than he would ever need or use. He cared little for the majority of his possessions, and could live without them with no regret. No, the money didn't mean all that much, although the power that came with it, well… that was a different matter he supposed.

Across the house he heard the door open and the muffled sound of her shoes on the wood floors. Glancing over at the clock he saw it was nearly seven. Satisfied that she had at least gone to talk to Hopper he relaxed a little and waited for her to find him. He would know if he was going to have to dance around her irritation soon enough and then he could stop thinking about all this and get back into his normal routine.

Author Note: Once again thanks for the reviews! I love feedback more than just about anything so humor me please!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

She was putting books on a cart to shelve when Archie came in. She smiled at the therapist. She had always liked him. He was a nice man with a quiet and comforting disposition. She supposed that was a pretty vital element of his job though. "Good morning, Dr. Hopper."

He gave her a kind smile in return, swinging his umbrella a little as he walked up to the counter. Glancing past him out the window she saw Pogo, his Dalmatian and constant companion, was up on his hind legs so he could see his master through the window. He was wagging his tail as his front paws rested on a ledge, content enough outside as long as he could see his master. She wondered why he even bothered to put a leash on the dog at all. He was one of the sweetest canines she'd ever encountered and never strayed from the therapist's side. "Good morning, Miss French." He grimaced a little. "Mrs. Gold I mean."

She smiled a little as she stacked some books on the desk as they spoke, trying to put them in order as they spoke. "Don't worry, I'm still trying to get used to it too." His easy, shy sort of boyish grin returned. "Are you looking for anything specific?" She made a guess. "I have a new historical fiction in." He did love those more than even she did, which was saying something. "Give me three minutes and I'll have it in the system so you can check it out. I haven't even gotten to read the book jacket on it yet. It's all about King Herod's conquest though."

He glanced around quickly and relaxed when he saw they were the only ones here. She generally didn't have that much activity at one thirty in the afternoon. Everyone was either at work or school, save for the retirees. "Actually I came to see if I could help you with anything."

She sent him a confused glance. "I'm sorry?"

His whole being was radiating reassurance and acceptance. "I know you've had a lot of big life changes in the last few months. That can be hard even if some of them were good."

Really, he had no idea, but she wasn't sure why he was here. It didn't seem like therapist should go looking for clients the way a salesmen did, by going door to door. "I'm really fine." She said, forcing her smile to stay in place.

He was gentle, not trying to prod, but offering a gentle observation. "You seem tired. Are you sleeping?"

"Yes, I…" She trailed off and then sighed in exasperation as she realized what was going on. Gold was scheming again. "Did Russell send you over here?" She had been trying her best to always use his first name when they were out in public. Married people did not refer to each other by last name. She couldn't seem to stop using Gold in private though. It just seemed too intimate to call him Russell to his face.

"Well I-" He sent her a guilty look, unable to lie it seemed. "Yes." She sent him an annoyed look and he rushed on. "He's worried about you. Is that really a bad thing?"

It was depending on his motive, but what that might be she didn't know. "No, it's not." She finally relented.

"It can help to talk about things. You don't strike me as a woman that confides in many people."

She felt remarkably odd and out of sorts all at once at that observation. "You say that like I don't have friends."

"On the contrary, you have several very good friends, but it doesn't take a doctorate in psychology to see that you're the emotional support in your social network. I saw you consoling Ruby about something behind the inn the day after your father passed away. It takes a special kind of person to do that." She shook her head a little and looked down at the books. That was true. Ruby had been having a fight with Granny over something or other, she couldn't even remember what it was. It just seemed easier to talk to her about that than dealing with everything else. That didn't make her a saint. All it made her was someone who needed a distraction. "I can help you start to sleep again."

She thought about that for a long time. She could afford to see Archie now that she was living with Gold, actually had a fair bit of money saved up over the last few months between not paying any bills and the money she made off the house, and maybe this would help. She couldn't seem to find a way to sleep on her own and he was a psychologist. He was trained to help with this sort of thing. "Maybe it is a good idea. When should I come?"

"Can you be at my office at five forty?"

"Yes, I can do that." She agreed. It would make her late home, and Gold would most likely have to deal with sandwiches for dinner, but that was his own fault if he had sent the psychologist over to her.

Archie smiled happily at her agreement. "I'll see you soon then."

She spent the rest of the day fretting over the appointment. She had never talked to a therapist before and wasn't sure exactly what she should be expecting, or if he could really help her. She also couldn't work out why exactly Gold would go to the trouble of having the doctor come find her. She wasn't being loud at night, even if she was wandering around the house. She had been sure to stay quiet so she wouldn't disturb him while he slept. And he had told her the house was at her disposal while she was there, so if that was the problem he should have just said so. Tired of wondering about it she tried not to think about the reason and simply went. It would be nice if she could sleep again, although she wasn't sure what Archie could do to help her with it.

At five o'clock she chased out the last two children picking out books as gently as possible and closed everything down. By five fifteen she was locking the door and ended up at his office ten minutes early. However, she always preferred to be early instead of late and had no problem waiting for him to finish whatever he was finishing. She sat down in what she assumed was the waiting area and picked up an old _Better Homes and Gardens_ magazine to pass the time.

She was flipping through it distractedly when the door opened. To her great surprise the mayor stepped out of the therapy office. The woman's expression closed down in an instant and she swore the temperature in the room dropped as she all but turned into a block of ice. Unable to think of anything to say she stuck with polite. "Hello, Mayor Mills."

"Mrs. Gold." She was bothered by the way the woman said her new name. Something about it was nasty. As if the woman felt she was so below her notice she shouldn't even have to say her name at all, let alone acknowledge her.

Despite this she smiled vaguely at her. She had no interest in fighting, had no real interest in Regina, and why the other woman wanted to be enemies was beyond her. "I heard you got funding for a new play area for the children. That's wonderful."

This only further irritated the woman and she had no idea why. "Why thank you for your support." She said with a cruel bite to her voice.

As she spoke Dr. Hopper stepped out behind her. He noted that Regina was in attack mode and cut in smoothly before things could spiral out of control. "I'll call you tomorrow, Mayor Mills. Will that work for you?"

"Before ten. I'm in meetings after that and can't be interrupted." She said snippily before turning on her high heels and storming off. Shaking her head as she vanished she closed her magazine and looked at the psychologist for direction as to what she should be doing.

"Come in." He backed up and held the door open for her invitingly. She went in, looking around with interest. The room was airy and soothing, the soft color palate swirling about the space. He had two large bookshelves with all sorts of psychology textbooks on them and his credentials were on the wall. In one corner his desk was placed between two windows, and right next to that was a large pillow. Pogo, was laying there and when he saw her he wagged his tail even as he yawned. The animal must be used to people coming in and out all day long and showed no bother about her being there even if she had never been in here before.

In the center of the room were two chairs, a couch, and a table. Unsure of which place was meant for her she looked at him again. "Wherever you feel comfortable, Mrs. Gold."

"Belle is fine." She told him as she selected one of the two chairs. She still wasn't used to being called Mrs. Gold, and really it was disconcerting and made her stomach role a little sickly at the lie. She set her purse on the floor next to her and pushed her hair behind her ear nervously as he grabbed a pad of paper and a pen off his desk before sitting down across from her.

He noted her anxiety easily. "You don't need to be so nervous." He told her as he settled himself in the other chair. "I don't bite." He gave her a friendly smile.

"I just… I've never talked to a psychologist before." She really had only ever talked to her father before about important things. True, she was close with Ruby, but with her inability to keep secrets she hadn't ever gotten into things that were terribly deep or secret before. Mostly she just kept things to herself. Even with Gary she hadn't shared too much, but he had always been happy enough talking about himself and his own plans, so there was rarely a reason to. Really, she didn't know where to start, or if there was some sort of format she should be following. "What are we going to talk about?"

"Whatever you want to talk about. Whatever you need to talk about." She said nothing to that, just played with the ring around her finger and nodded. The psychologist continued when it became apparent she wasn't going to speak. "Belle, nothing you say to me will ever go past these walls. I'm ethically and morally bound to keep what we talk about confidential."

She knew that, had read about it so many times, but wasn't sure she really believed it. It simply seemed implausible that anyone could do that. "Really?"

"Really." He assured her. "Why don't we start with the sleeping?"

"Okay." She agreed. That was the reason she had agreed to come after all.

"Are you sleeping at all?"

"I usually get four hours in a row every three or four days. Other than that it's like I'm napping instead of really sleeping. I get an hour and then I'll be up for two, and then go back to sleep for another hour until I have to be up for the day."

"That goes on all night?" She nodded. "Is it hard for you to fall asleep?"

"Yes, but it shouldn't be. I'm tired all the time."

"And it's hard to stay asleep as well?" She nodded again as he clarified, taking notes as he did. "Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know." She told him honestly. "I can't stop thinking long enough to fall asleep I suppose."

"About what?"

She twisted her ring again. "My parents, work, friends… Everything I guess."

"Both of your parents?"

"Yes." She watched him note that. "I don't mind thinking about it when I'm supposed to be awake, well I do, but it doesn't bother me so much. When I'm tired and trying to sleep I can't… prepare myself for it."

"What exactly is it you think about when you're thinking about them?" He asked.

"The funeral. How sick he was before that." Her eyes went distant.

He nodded in understanding. "Could you tell me what happened to your mother? I'm afraid I don't know."

She wanted to cry at the thought, but she always did when thinking about her mother's death. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay." He agreed easily, which surprise the hell out of her. She had thought he would go after that like a dog on a bone. "Let's talk about something else." She eyed him unbelievingly, but he remained calm and nearly passive. "How's work?"

"Good." She said at once. "I love my job." He nodded for her to continue. "I've always been in love with books and people that come in do too. I get to plan the weekend reading sessions and work on all the fundraisers. I can read when nothing else is going on." She wasn't sure what else to say about it. "The quiet is nice too. The flower shop was always so loud, even when no one was there but my father and I. He was getting hard of hearing and liked the radio on while he worked. The television was usually on when we were home in the evenings too."

"Do you miss the flower shop?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "I miss the smell, but not the other things."

"What other things?"

She shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't sure why Gold had wanted her to talk to Archie when it was very possible, if not inevitable, that he would work out that she had married him for the reason she had. She didn't want to slip up on accident. "We were in a lot of debt. I co-signed for the loan so my credit was on the line too. It was upsetting."

"That must have raised the tension at home."

"No, he never had a problem with it. At least not one he told me about." He tilted his head. "He was doing really well paying everything back. I just knew how long it was going to take and it made me nervous for a while." She shrugged. "But once I knew he had it under control I stopped thinking about it. Then he died and I was left with the shop and the loan and didn't know how to deal with either one." She looked away. "I was relieved when I sold it back to Russell."

He sent her a confused look. "So in essence you sold the shop back to yourself?"

"What?"

"You are married to him. You share everything."

"Oh." Well yes, from his perspective that was true. "I never thought about it that way. I guess you're right."

"You seem bothered."

Only about having to lie so quickly. She'd never had practice at this before and found it was harder than she imagined. "No, not really."

"I see." He said neutrally.

She was bothered by that really, thinking that Gold's brutal sarcasm was better than this passive acceptance. For some reason it made her edgy. She also wasn't sure how she felt about Archie coming to whatever assumptions he was coming to as she didn't know what they were. "I just don't want anything else to do with it. It was exhausting and I was pretty useless at it. I know that's horrible to say, really I do, it was my father's dream."

"That doesn't mean it had to be yours." Hopper pointed out.

She sighed. That might be true but it didn't change much. "He wanted me to keep it."

"Gold?"

"My father." She said. "I know he did. I just didn't want it. All I wanted was to pay off the debts and move on."

"You wanted to work at the library." She nodded. "But you feel guilty about that." It was a statement, not a question.

Actually she did. "It was selfish to sell it after all the work he put into it. That was his whole life. We moved to a different country so he could make that happen."

"Do you think your father would want you to feel guilty about having your own dreams and happiness?"

"No, but I don't think he would understand why it was something other than the shop."

"Do you think he would have tried to understand?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly, now confused over the things coming out of her mouth. She had never actually put any of this into words before. It had just been this mass of tangled, unclear thoughts and emotions. "I mean, yes, he would have tried, but I don't know if he would have understood. He always thought in one direction." And that direction had been the future of the shop.

"Is that why you're holding onto the guilt? Because you don't think he would understand?"

"I don't… maybe." She really wasn't sure. "I don't know. I don't know why I feel guilty half the time."

"Is the guilt what's keeping you awake?"

"Sometimes I guess." She admitted "Sometimes other things." She wasn't sure it was just the things she was thinking. "Maybe I just got used to staying awake all night and now it's a bad habit I can't break as much as anything."

"What do you mean? Why did you get used to that?"

"I would stay up with my dad when he was sick." She looked away from him in her distress. "I never wanted him to be by himself when he was up at night. I knew he was scared even if he wouldn't say it."

"I understand you were with him when he died."

"He wanted to be at home." She agreed.

"That must have been hard."

She shrugged helplessly. Even after four months with him gone she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about this. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk about this. Half the time she could barely stand to think about it. "It was." She agreed. "But I was glad when he didn't wake up."

"You were glad?"

"He hurt all the time. I didn't want him to hurt anymore and we both knew he wasn't going to get better this time."

"This time?"

She flinched. She hadn't meant to share that. "He'd been sick for a long time." She admitted. "He'd had cancer since I was seventeen. He fought it off twice before it came back again."

"I didn't know." He said gently. "I'm sorry."

"It's no one's fault." She told him. "He was lucky he got better twice before. He did a lot better those times too."

"And you stayed up with him then as well?"

"As much as I could. It made it easier for him. I wanted to help."

"Of course you helped."

She wasn't so sure about that. "I could have done more."

"What else could you have done?" She sat there quietly as she tried to come up with an answer. For the first time he pushed. "What do you think you should have done?"

"Taken better care of him." She answered truthfully.

"It sounds to me as if you took better care of him than anyone else could have." He said gently. "If you were staying up with him all night. Did you just sit with him or-"

She couldn't do this anymore. The thought of her father in so much pain, of watching him vomit blood and thrash in bed covered in sweat was too much for her. She cut the man off abruptly no matter how rude it was. "I'm sorry, what does this have to do with me sleeping?"

He paused, watching her for a moment before speaking. "What do you think it has to do with sleeping?"

She sent him a frustrated look. "I have no idea. That's why I asked." She made a suggestion. "Couldn't you just… give me some tips on how to break out of the habit?" That seemed a much more practical way to go about things. "I think if I just get on a normal sleep cycle again I'll stop bothering Russell with it."

"Stop bothering him?"

"Yes." She said, now slightly perplexed. "Isn't that why he wanted me to see you? So I would start sleeping again?"

"He did tell me he wanted you to sleep, but he didn't say anything about it bothering him."

"If it didn't bother him then why am I here? Why would he go to the trouble of getting you to talk to me?"

"He's your husband." The man pointed out. "He's worried about you."

From a normal perspective she could see why he would think that. She let him have it. "Obviously yes." Archie gave her a funny look at the too fast response. "So how should I go about this exactly?"

He studied her for a moment before speaking. "Are you uncomfortable talking to me?"

"Yes." She said, feeling as if that were rather a cruel jibe at his professionalism, but not knowing how to soften that blow. She simply didn't like this at all.

"Are you uncomfortable talking to other people?"

She frowned slightly. "I talk to people all the time."

He sighed a little and set his paper and pen on the table. "Okay, no more talking then." She was more than a little relieved and she had no doubt it showed on her face. Archie forged on. "I'm going to show you something called deep muscle relaxation. It's a form of meditation. I think it might help you relax enough to fall asleep."

That sounded like a winner. "Okay. How do I do that?"

"Get comfortable and we'll start." Shifting in the seat she did what he said and the man began to walk her through the process slowly so she understood. It wasn't hard to do, although it took concentration. He was patient with her through the whole thing, urging her to keep her breathing as deep as possible as they went through it. Fifteen minutes later and she was fully relaxed and drowsy, her body limp in the chair. Archie let her sit quietly for another few minutes before slowly rousing her. "That was very good, Belle. Not many people can do that so fast." She blinked slowly, trying to get her body to respond to her after that. "Do you think you can do that by yourself?"

"Yes." She said, shaking out of the self-induced daze. "It wasn't hard."

"It'll be more difficult without me guiding you for awhile. The thoughts will come in and make you tense up and you'll have to start all over. If you practice it'll get easier, but at the start you're really going to have to work on keeping your mind blank. I think that's going to be hard for you."

"I can do that." She assured him.

"I just don't want you to get frustrated and stop trying." He told her. "I want you to know it's likely this is going to take you some time to get right. You need to practice this skill just like everything else."

"Okay." She agreed. "Thank you for showing me that."

"You're welcome." He reached over and grabbed a planner. "I want to see you again to be sure this is helping."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." She told him. "I don't want to waste your time."

"Being sure you're sleeping isn't a waste of my time." He told her. "This is my job, you aren't imposing on me."

"Yes, but-"

He interrupted gently. "Humor me, Belle." He told her. "You might be right. This might be all you need, but I just want to be sure."

"All right." She agreed halfhearted. "If it would make you feel better."

"It would." He told her. "Do you have any questions for me?" He asked as he pulled a card out of the planner and handed it to her. She took it and saw his number was on it.

"If this doesn't work is there something else I could try?" She asked, wanting to know if she had options just in case she failed.

"A few things." He agreed. "Also, if you do this and still can't fall asleep in fifteen minutes don't lay in bed. I want you to get up and do something boring for about twenty minutes then try again."

"Why?"

"I want you to only associate the bed with what it's supposed to be for. If you're lying there thinking about things then it isn't a bed is it? It's a place to worry. You don't sleep in places where you worry. You get tense and anxious in places you worry."

"Oh." She could see that actually. "That makes sense."

"Good." He seemed relieved she did see the logic in that. "So the bed is only for sleeping and sex. That's all." She blushed brilliantly at that, realizing his assumption that she was sleeping with Gold. Of course, they were married so of course he thought that, and so did everyone else, and oh, she really needed to stop blushing.

Archie, of course, saw her whole face flush. "Oh, I'm sorry." He was genuinely apologetic, thinking she was shy as opposed to flustered for an entirely different reason. "That's very private to some people. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to be clear."

"It's okay." She assured him. "Sleep and sex. Got it."

He nodded again. "So and I see you again next Wednesday at the same time? Is that a good time for you?"

"Yes, it is." She said, although she didn't really want to do this again. Maybe this exercise would work and she could simply cancel the next one. As it was she wanted to leave her options open. Picking up her purse she put the card into it. "Thank you, Dr. Hopper, really."

"It's no trouble." He got up when she did. "Have a nice evening."

"You too." She said as she dug around her purse. "How much should I write the check for?"

"Oh, no." He said at once. "Your husband already took care of that."

She was a little taken aback by that and spoke. "He did?"

He got a bit jumpy, although he tried to hide it. "Yes, we came to an agreement-"

She sighed tiredly. "Did he really pay you?"

"Yes, of course-" He was a horrible liar.

"Dr. Hopper." She said firmly. "You can't let him bully you. He's gotten entirely too used to getting his way with people around here. You're only encouraging bad behavior."

He grimaced a little. "Yes, well-"

She was utterly annoyed with Gold now. "How much do I owe you? You can't live on nothing, and as you pointed out this is your job. You shouldn't feel bad about getting paid."

"My usual fee is eighty dollars a session."

"Okay." She agreed as she pulled out her checkbook. She filled out the slip of paper quickly and handed it to him. As he took it she spoke again. "If he tries that again tell me."

"I wouldn't want-"

She waved it off as she headed toward the door. "I don't want you living in fear of his ridiculousness. So tell me." He nodded slightly and she left, muttering about Gold under her breath as she did so.

Walking back to her car, which was still in the library parking lot she got in and drove home, calming a little as the minutes ticked by. When she walked in the house she had her temper under control and felt she could talk about this reasonably. Gold was lucky Dr. Hopper had just taught her something that made her relax. Setting her bag down next to his wallet and keys she headed toward the kitchen, figuring he would have started foraging for food by now if he were home. For a man that had been living on mostly air he certainly did have an appetite that was deceptively large considering his slim frame. She was right about him being in the kitchen, but he wasn't looking for food. Instead he was standing near the back door looking out at the garden as his fingers played idly over the petals of a rose he had in a pretty crystal vase. She'd never seen him cut one of his roses before.

"Evening, dearie. You're home late."

She quirked an eyebrow up and crossed her arms. He did his very best to look completely innocent, although she could see in his eyes he was waiting to see what she was about to do. He knew she knew he had set her up "And you know exactly why. Why are you trying to trick me and terrorizing people?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied.

She narrowed her eyes. "Not buying it." She informed him. "You had poor Dr. Hopper in all kinds of knots."

"You saw Dr. Hopper?" He asked with false curiosity. "Whatever for?"

She sighed in annoyance. "I can see this will go nowhere fast." She commented before continuing. "But I'm fine with dragging information out of you, so if you think that's going to stop me you're badly mistaken. If I was bothering you at night all you had to do was say so and I would have stayed in my room."

He cocked his head to the side at that before speaking. "If you want to wander the house that's your affair. It makes no difference to me."

She wasn't sure what to think. "If I wasn't bothering you then why go to the trouble of sending me to him?"

"Did it help?" He asked, ignoring the question.

"I don't know yet." She told him honestly. "He showed me a relaxation thing that might work though. He said I had to practice."

Gold appeared satisfied with that answer. "Good."

She watched him for a moment, perplexed by his behavior. He simply stared back at her and eventually she gave up, figuring she wasn't going to get an answer about this tonight. That didn't mean she wouldn't get an answer though. "You don't have to threaten people to get your way you know."

"It gets quick results, dearie."

"And makes no friends." She tossed back.

"I'm not interested in making friends."

"Maybe you should be." She said. "I don't think you really like being cooped up here all by yourself. I don't like thinking that you're going to be by yourself when this is over. You don't deserve to be miserable, and I'm not sure why you're set on letting that happen."

"I do quite well on my own." He informed her.

She moved closer to him until she was right next to him. She leaned against the counter so their arms were almost touching and turned her head toward him. He watched her, almost warily, and she wondered what about her could possibly make him nervous. "I think you want more than a big empty house in your life." She said quietly. "Why'd you really make this deal with me?"

"I was tired of turkey sandwiches." He quipped.

She gave him a look before softening toward him. "I think you were lonely. Anyone would be lonely."

"I'm not anyone." He pointed out. "And I made this deal with you because it was mutually beneficial. That's all there was to it."

She watched him, not totally convinced that was true. She thought he liked having her here too much for it to be true, at least completely true. After a moments thought she changed the subject. For some reason she thought if she pushed she would somehow undo the fragile friendship they had formed. She surprised herself when she realized that would have upset her badly. She moved her eyes to the flower. "I can't believe you cut one."

He picked up the small vase and held it out to her. "For you. If you'll have it."

"You picked one of them for me?" She asked with surprise. The man guarded his rose bushes as if they were worth as much as his bank account. She'd never seen anyone take gardening so seriously. She took the vase from him with a happy smile, not even caring if he had done this simply to sooth a ruffled temper over his interfering. She had never gone so long without a flower in her room and the thought of being able to see it when she woke up in the morning washed away any anger she did have over him sending Hopper after her, which was no doubt his plan all along. Still, his meddling might make her sleep again so maybe she shouldn't worry about what his actual reasoning had been. And, she supposed, at least if he was going to manipulate her he had the good sense to know she was going to find out and prepare for it. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

"No matter." He said, moving away from her.

She smelled the rose and her smile stayed firmly in place. She was utterly delighted by the gesture no matter how many times in her life she had been given flowers. She thought it was because it was from him and it was the last thing she had expected. "Are you hungry?"

"I am."

She set the vase down carefully on the counter. "Me too. Let's go to Granny's." He wrinkled his nose in protest of going out in public, but she would have none of it. Following after him she looped her arm in his and started leading him out of the kitchen. "It's your own fault for making me late. Your punishment is taking me out for dinner."

"My punishment?" He asked in annoyance.

"Yes, for being sneaky and trying to trick me. Did you really think a flower was going to wipe the slate clean? Hmm?"

"Very well." He agreed grudgingly. "I'll take you to the diner." He added a stipulation. "But only if Ruby doesn't serve us. She tries to spill hot soup on me on purpose."

"She's the only waitress on shift tonight." She said perkily. "Learn to dodge." He let out an aggrieved sigh and she laughed softly. Turn about was a hundred percent fair play where this man was involved. It was about time he learned that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

She sat curled up in her preferred seat on the sofa watching the small tree dreamily late that evening. Her stomach was full and the house was warm, and for once her mind wasn't running at a hundred miles an hour. Instead her mind was floating in a happy daze at the sight of the lights and the merry little tree. She didn't care that it was small, found comfort in that since it was her family tradition. Maybe they had always gotten a small Christmas tree because they couldn't afford a normal sized one, but that hardly mattered. All that mattered was that it was lovely, and the lights were blinking, and it reminded her of Christmas, and happiness, and contentment. Never mind that she was in a fake marriage and a too big house that echoed of emptiness most of the time. Right here and now she was comfortable and happy.

"Has that silly thing really made you so happy?" He asked from the doorway of the parlor. She glanced over and saw he had several file folders under his arm. He had finally shed his jacket and tie for the day, which meant he had no intention of leaving the house again today. He was never less than perfectly presentable if there was any chance someone might see him. That he had relaxed was a sign he was about to retreat to his office for the night to finish whatever it was he deemed necessary to finish before tomorrow.

She smiled dreamily at the question and turned her attention back to the tree, shifting on the couch so her legs were stretched out and most of her weight was resting on the arm of it, her head pillowed on her elbow. "Yes." She said simply as she watched the ornaments shinning in the multicolored lights.

"You're a different sort of woman." He commented as he walked off.

Like he wasn't a different sort of man. Honestly. She heard his office door shut softly a minute later and sat there enjoying her tree. It had been fun earlier today, getting him to help her with it. When she'd come home with the small pine, thrilled to death to get to decorate, as it was her favorite part of the holiday, she had put up all the decorations she had with the exception of the ones for the tree. She had no idea what his reaction to this would be, although she suspected it would be funny whatever it was.

Regardless, she wasn't about to ask before he did it. She had found it was much easier to simply do things and then deal with the fall out with him. If she asked for permission he was somehow able to talk her out of things, twisting it around until, for just a minute or so, she thought what he wanted was her idea. When that odd magic he wove wore off, and she had not done whatever it was she had meant to do when she started talking to him, she simply became annoyed with herself for letting it happen. She was also grudgingly impressed he somehow managed to flip her thought process upside down on her, and as it was in his nature to get people to do what he wanted, she couldn't even get all that angry with him for it. She should be ready for such trickery when she was trying to get her way about things.

After the third time he turned her around with a kind of skill she couldn't even fathom she adopted a new tactic as politeness and consideration was getting her nowhere. She just started doing what she wanted, especially if it was something like decorating for Christmas, or rearranging the house to her liking. The first few days she adopted this bold new stratagem he either didn't notice or thought she simply forgot to mention things to him. However, her bold movements couldn't go undetected forever, and it wasn't like she was really trying to cover her tracks. He had come home to find her trying to get the curtains in the parlor open one evening while she had a stew simmering on the stove when he worked it out.

He had passed the entrance to the parlor as he went farther into the house and she said nothing as she stood balanced precariously on a stool he had shoved into a corner of the large room as she fought with the thick wine red fabric. She was determined, after six months, to let sunlight into this room. It had been a crisp fall day outside and all she wanted was to enjoy the last of the nice weather before winter settled over New England. She heard the tap of his cane stop about two steps passed the entrance of the parlor as his brain processed what he must have seen out of the corner of his eye. Sensing this would be their battleground she smiled slightly in anticipation as she tugged harder at the curtains, determined to get her way. When she heard him backing up, his cane clicking again as he backtracked, she wiped the smile from her face and pretended ignorance.

Behind her she heard him stop in the doorway. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Opening these." She told him. "It's almost winter. We should let some light in while we can." She tugged harder but the curtains weren't budging at all. She looked over her shoulder at him while she pulled. "What did you do? Nail them down?"

"Yes." He answered; as if that were the simplest question he'd ever heard. She sent him a look, a small muffled laugh getting past her lips before she went back to her task. He stepped closer, whether to stop her or help her she didn't know, when all at once the curtains gave way under her persistent tugging and the whole thing gave way.

The sudden lack of anything resisting her firm pulling had her loosing her balance completely. She didn't even have time to make a sound as the stool flew out from under her and she toppled backward. Before she could hit the ground she felt warmth at her back as she smacked into his chest. His arms clamped around her waist and then he was stumbling back as his leg gave out from under him in a rush. He somehow managed to twist them so the back of his legs hit one of the couches and they tumbled down onto the cushion in a heap.

There was a pause of several seconds as she worked out what had happened and that she hadn't injured herself. She couldn't comprehend that he had just caught her. Then she realized she was more than half in his lap with her legs tangled up with his as they sprawled over the piece of furniture that had saved them from an major harm. His arms were still around her tightly and she was suddenly very aware of how very warm he was. No sooner did that thought pop into her head than she smelled his cologne and realized things she had no business realizing. Slowly, she tilted her head up so she could see his face, half stunned he'd done that and half panicked by her thoughts, which were as far from a platonic business deal as they could get.

He was blinking at the bright light as it suddenly poured into the formerly shadowed room. When he felt her move he looked down at her, his face terribly close, and she blessed her mouth for working without her brain. "Thank you." She said softly.

He set her on her feet at once, as if she were burning him but he didn't want to put her out by being anything but swiftly gentle. "No matter." He said the moment she was off him.

She felt bad at once. All she had wanted to do was let some light in and she may well have broken him. "Did you hurt your leg?"

"No." He said as he got to his feet with far more grace than she could ever achieve.

She fidgeted a little and took a step toward the curtains after scooping his cane up and handing it back to him. "I'll, uh, put the curtains back up." She said in way of apology for trying to squish him.

He gave her an odd look that she couldn't decipher before waving it off as he turned to go. "There's no need." He wasn't even looking at her as he left. "I'll get used to it."

Unsure if he were talking about the curtains being down or her getting her way around the house she still wasn't sure, but he hadn't tried to get her to de-decorate the house yet so maybe he meant the second one. Or so it seemed, as only hours ago, she had somehow won a small victory in the great game of living with one Russell Alexander Gold. At least she thought she has, as she turned the recent events back over.

She had been humming in delight as she came downstairs with the small, battered shoebox she had stored in the very back of her walk in closet when he came in from work. She didn't know why he kept going into his shop on Sunday mornings when he didn't open it. He needed to give himself a day to sleep in or he was going to have a heart attack or something. Really, the man was a workaholic if ever there was one. "I'm glad you're home." She said brightly. He raised an eyebrow in question as he shut the door on the cold December air. "You can help me decorate the Christmas tree."

"The Christmas tree?" He asked warily, as if she told him she had brought home a thirty-foot boa constrictor and set it loose in his bedroom.

Her eyes twinkled merrily at his tone. "Yes, that thing people do to decorate the house at this particularly festive time of year." His eyes slid around and he spotted the large red velvet bows she had wrapped around the banisters of the staircase and the matching ribbons that she placed between them so the decorations flowed better. He looked slightly horrified by them, as if they were a total assault on his sense of taste and propriety. Before he could say anything about them, or demand she remove them from his staircase at once, she tucked the box carefully under her arm, took a few steps forward, and grabbed his free hand. She began to drag him toward the sitting room at once, giving him no choice but to follow or keel over. "Come on, Russell."

"I don't celebrate Christmas anymore." He told her.

"I do." She told him firmly, not even bothering to ask why he had a life change over the matter as she doubted he would tell her. The man kept things so close to his chest, as if he were afraid she would use what she knew to destroy him given the chance. She wondered what had happened in his life for him to be so distrustful of everyone. "So you're going to this year too."

"That's-" He cut off whatever he was going to say when he got a good look at the undecorated tree when she finally released him, sure he was firmly in the parlor. She let him go and set the box on one of the couches, opening it up. "What is _that_?" He pointed his cane at it. She had moved some furniture around so the tree was in front of the large bay windows. It made the whole thing look nicer even if she was sure he was going to have a fit about her moving things around on him.

"The tree." She replied as she carefully removed the wrapping from the delicate ornaments. The last thing she wanted to do was break them.

"That is not a tree." He informed her. "That is a very small and conically shaped shrub."

She smiled at him, amused by his near outrage over the tree she'd picked right after telling her he didn't even celebrate the holiday. It shouldn't matter to him what size tree she got. So it was small enough to fit on top of one of the end tables. It was still a tree. "It is a tree. I never get a big one."

"That thing is barely a full foot high." He pointed out unnecessarily.

"Then you can't complain about it being in the way can you?" She asked practically.

He rolled his eyes and she handed him a very small string of lights. "Go on then."

He sent her an exasperated look when he realized she was set on involving him in the merry madness. "You can't be serious."

"I'm a hundred percent serious." She informed him as she got out the dozen tiny ornaments she had special ordered when she was fifteen. She had earned the money for them tutoring. "Come on." She prompted, trying to get him to move as she became impatient. "I can't put the ornaments on until you hang the lights." He opened his mouth to protest further and she kept on. "I will annoy you beyond reckoning until you do this." She told him cheerfully. "Consider your options carefully."

Sending her another look he wrapped the lights with surprising care around the very small tree she had sitting on the cleared off table. She had been sure to be careful of the wood, putting a plastic bag under the base and then wrapping an old red scarf she had about it to cover it in place of a tree blanket. The last thing she wanted was to ruin an antique table. He really would have had a fit about that. When he was done she started hanging the ornaments, putting three of the twelve in his hand so he had to help. She couldn't tell what he was feeling, but swore his eyes were glittering in amusement at her happy humming. When that was done she went and grabbed the small star out of the now empty box and set it in his hand. He placed it on the top of the small tree with no further prompting. Bending over Gold plugged in the strand of multicolored lights and she laughed in delight, clapping her hands as childlike glee filled her.

He turned to go, thinking he was finished, but she slipped her arm in his and turned him forcibly around to face it by locking her elbow against his. He jerked at the sudden change in direction but had no problem holding his balance. She had noticed he never seemed to have any issue with it despite his injured leg. He was far more graceful than her. He was far more graceful than most people. She really was a bit envious of that. It was an extremely attractive quality in a person. "No you don't. We have to admire it before you just walk off as if nothing amazing is in here now." He rolled his eyes a second time and she stood there happily humming and latched onto him as he leaned on his cane.

Finally, no doubt to get this over with, he spoke. "It's by far the most magnificent shrub I've ever seen."

She darted a glance at him and saw he was trying hard not to smile. She rode on his good mood, liking that he liked this nearly as much as she did even though he wouldn't admit it. "You did a lovely job with the lights. It's good you're taller than me so you could reach all the way to the top."

His lip twitched like mad and she knew he really had enjoyed this now. "Are you done, dearie?"

She sighed dramatically. "I suppose."

He chuffed out a small laugh and let her arm go. "Dare I ask what else has ribbons on it?"

"Just the stairs have ribbons." He nodded and started leaving the room. "And the porch has twinkly lights now." He sighed, saying nothing as she blatantly took over his house with her cheer, and in a manner the neighbors would notice. "And the table in the kitchen has been decked, although I didn't know what to do with the halls, and frankly I ran out of decorations and have never liked holly."

"Small mercies." She heard him mutter as he headed across the hall, no doubt to his office and away from the changes. He had never said she couldn't go into his office, but she never had, figuring he would like her poking about his business transactions the way he would like a hot poker shoved under his fingernail. She was pleased enough with his participation to leave him alone for a few hours and after rearranging the scarf to be sure it looked the way it should she went back to finishing dinner.

And now, hours later, she was watching the miniscule tree as it lit up part of the room. For all his teasing she did love it and sat there for another hour or so before getting up and turning the lights on the small tree off. Going upstairs she cleaned up and went into her room and shut the door. Laying down she got comfortable and began to go through the now practiced exercise to make herself relax. It had taken her well over a week to really get this to work, which was longer than she anticipated, but in the end it did help her fall asleep. She had been more than relieved that Archie had managed to help her so easily, and after one follow up appointment he was happy with her progress too. He had told her to call him if she needed anything else and she had agreed, wanting nothing more than to go back home and get another full night of sleep.

She began to make her body relax, having no trouble with it, when she suddenly realized tears were running freely down her face. As she lay there crying silently she realized it was only the second time she had cried since her father had died. At first she had been too shocked and numb to cry and later she had felt it would be some sort of weakness or dishonor to cry over him. She was sure he would have been exasperated to have her cry at the funeral, so she had pushed everything down and taken care of things. She had been taking care of things one way or another since then. Why she chose now to cry she didn't know, but for the life of her she couldn't stop it once it started.

God, she didn't want to be feeling this. It had been a good day. She had fun today decorating and teasing Russell into helping. There was no reason for her to be upset. Turning her head into her pillow so there was no chance Gold might hear her if he walked by or went into his room she let out a little hitching breath as she cried and cursed herself for letting her mind get away from her this way. She had no idea how long she cried, or how long her body shook with ragged, silent sobs, but she finally managed to stop, petering out slowly. After several more minutes where she was trying to get control of herself she forced herself up. She wasn't supposed to be in bed if she wasn't sleeping. That was all she could think as she stood up and wiped at her eyes roughly. She felt hallow now, empty save for a deep sadness she had been pushing back for some time and she could barely stand it.

Sniffing and unhappy with herself, she crept out of her room and into the bathroom, being sure he didn't spot her as she went. Turning on the taps she wet a cloth and washed her face. Setting the cloth aside she grabbed one of the insanely fluffy towels and dried her face. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw her face was pale and her nose a little red, but otherwise she thought she looked fairly normal. Hanging the towel back on a bar meant for it she ran her fingers through her hair to untangle it as best she could.

After a few minutes she abandoned the bathroom and went back downstairs. She had found that Archie's suggestion to do something mundane for a bit before trying to sleep again had helped as much as anything and so fell back on it after well over a month of having no problems falling asleep. Going back downstairs she went into the kitchen and went about making tea, which was the most mundane thing she could think to do at the time short of polishing a set of silver he had in a cabinet. Of course, she thought he wouldn't want her touching it, and on top of it she had no idea where any silver polish might be in the house.

The soft sound of the delicate china being moved must have somehow caught his attention. That, or he was simply hungry and came in the kitchen at the same time she was there to get a snack. "You're up late, dearie."

"And you aren't?" She asked, forcing herself to fall into their normal pattern of light teasing. "It's all the excitement of Christmas cheer isn't it?"

He smiled slightly. "You caught me."

He leaned on the counter beside her as she finished and began to pour them both a cup of tea. "I knew it." She handed him his chipped cup after putting some sugar in it. "No one can resist ribbons and twinkly lights."

"It was really the Christmas shrub that won me over." He told her, being careful to keep the chipped side away from his mouth.

She smiled, some of her sadness vanishing, as she picked up her own cup and turned so they were leaning right beside one another. Their shoulders brushed as they stood there and she resisted the urge to lean further into him. She had been resisting getting close to him a lot recently and it was only getting harder. She was unnerved by this reaction to him. She had never wanted to simply be in a space like this with someone before. It was more than distracting, it was unnerving. It was hardly helping that he was now comfortable with having her in his space. He didn't seem to mind that she was here anymore, had actually started seeking her out when he was home to talk with her instead of ignoring her presence or putting up with her at meal times. It was only making things worse for her as she struggled with these new unwanted emotions, and she wasn't sure why she was feeling the things she was feeling. Sometimes she worried she was still in a bad place after her father's death. Other times she was worried that had absolutely nothing to do with it at all. As he lifted his cup to his mouth she saw he had ink stains on his fingers again. She wondered what he was working on now. "Why do you work so much?"

He glanced over her. "What?"

"It's just… you have more money than you could ever spend. You never take a day off, not even Sundays. Why do you keep working so hard when you have everything you could ever want?"

He looked back down into his cup, his face unreadable. "It helps me forget."

She watched him, bothered by his tone. He sounded terribly sad. "Forget what?"

He frowned slightly, although his eyes glittered with sudden humor. "I guess it worked." She let out a small laugh despite not getting a serious answer and he smiled at her. Then he surprised her when he reached out with one of his long, nimble fingers and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her stomach clenched as the tip of his finger brushed over skin. "You should be sleeping."

She gave him a one-shoulder shrug. "I'm not tired." His frown returned as he took her in and she hoped he couldn't tell she had been crying. She thought he could tell something was off, but he was so good at reading people, and despite this giant lie they were living she wasn't that good at hiding things. "You're a terrible liar, dearie." Before she could say anything he went on. "And you realize tea has caffeine in it?" He tapped her nose lightly with his finger. "Not helpful for sleeping."

"I'm not sleeping anyway so what does it matter?"

"You should be sleeping." He pointed out.

"And you should take a day off." She countered.

"I'm busy."

Reaching out she tugged on the collar of his shirt in exchange for the nose bopping. "You make yourself busy." He narrowed his eyes at that logic and she smiled a little at him. "Come on, live a little and take a day off. You might like it."

He sent her an amused glare. "I've other things to do than play, dearie."

"What's the point of working so hard if you don't have some fun at the end of the day? Or of being able to make your own hours and not take a day for yourself once every five to ten years?" She asked. "One day." She insisted. "Take one day off and do something completely unrelated to work with me."

"Oh, now you're involved too?" He asked lightly. "We'll be reading all day. Hardly the fun outing you seem so insistent on."

"Okay, one, reading is amazingly fun. If you think it's not you've been in your law books too much. Two, I'm bringing you an entertaining book home tomorrow and you're going to read it. And three, well, I'll have to think of a fun thing, but it won't be reading and you will enjoy yourself."

"You'll have to think of it?" He asked dryly.

"Don't put me on the spot and expect instant inspiration this late at night." She told him with a sniff. "I have at least until next weekend to think of something for us to do."

He watched her for a moment as she smiled at him teasingly and all at once she felt his walls snap up with a vengeance. "No need." He said, setting his tea down. "I have a project I'll be working on next weekend."

Her smile fell a little, but she tried again. "The weekend after then?" That would be only two days after Christmas, and might limit their options a bit with everything closed for the holiday, but that didn't mean she wouldn't find something to do.

"No." He said and she was taken aback by his sudden coolness. It was as if all at once she was talking to the man everyone thought he was instead of the one she was slowly getting to know. He stepped away from her, not even looking at her now. "Get some sleep, dearie."

Knowing she had just been completely rebuffed she stood there silently as he walked away. It wasn't often in her life she put herself out there and the rejection hurt more than she was willing to admit. He was almost out of the kitchen before she found her voice again. "I really wish you would take a break." He paused for half a moment. "I think you would be happier for it." He said nothing and she watched his back. "And it doesn't have to be with me. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was only trying to-"

"I know what you were doing." He said, his voice aloof and distant. "If you want something from me then just ask for it. I'm not interested in a game."

She was taken aback. "I don't want anything from you."

"Everyone wants something, Miss French."

She was hurt he would think that about her, that he would think she was trying to take advantage of him, that she was trying to trade false friendship and interest in for material gain. She hadn't asked for anything from him at all since she moved in here. True, she had asked for a way out of a loan, but he was getting just as much out of this as her. These were his terms, not hers. Why he would assume she was after more than his company she wasn't sure. "I don't." She said quietly, and the honest hurt must have seeped into her voice because his shoulders twitched. "I don't want anything from you, Russell. I just thought we could go out and do something so you could relax. That's all." She looked down at her tea.

He sighed and turned back around. "I appreciate the thought-"

She cut him off, not wanting to be rejected a third time, or accused of something else she had no intention of doing. Looking up she hoped her face was clear. "I'm going to invite Ruby and Granny over for Christmas dinner." He stopped talking and watched her. "I know you hate company, but it's either that or we go over to the inn to see them and I'd just as soon not make them cook on a holiday when that's all they do all the time. And you can't skip out of it either, not on Christmas."

There was a long pause and she had no idea what he was thinking. "All right."

She nodded and went on, no longer looking at him. "Is there anyone you want to come over? I just need to know how many people to cook for."

"There's no one."

"Okay." She set her teacup in the sink to clean in the morning. "I'll see you in the morning then." Pushing off the counter she left the kitchen, brushing past him as she left. As she turned around the corner she felt his eyes on her and kicked herself for pushing, for allowing herself to feel, for thinking he might want anything other than a business transaction when she knew very well he didn't. It wasn't fair of her to push herself on him when he had been so clear about what he expected out of this. She just needed to stop thinking about it. She needed to stop thinking about him, and she needed to keep reminding herself that what she wanted had no impact on what he did or felt. It was just horribly unfortunate that she had realized that he was right. Everyone wanted something, and it seemed that what she wanted was him.

Author Note: Well it couldn't all be moonbeams and rainbows. Angst! Woot! Thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate the time it takes you to write them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Walking into the house he was immediately bothered by something, although he had not a clue what it might be. Standing in the entryway he glanced around warily for several long moments, alert and on edge, until he realized what was bothering him was the stillness. Since Belle had moved in he had never come home to a still house. It wasn't that she was overly noisy, it had never bothered him when she did make noise, which was odd in itself after so long with the quiet, but she was always making some sort of impact on the environment.

She was always cooking, or moving things, or walking about. She often had the radio on at a low volume when she was there, even when she was reading quietly up in her room or the parlor. He always knew she was in the house. She brought energy to the place in a way no one else ever had and he was frankly baffled over what exactly it was she was doing that brought the house to life the way a home should feel. Even when she was simply existing in the space and making no noise at all he knew she was here. This stillness was all wrong and was setting his teeth on edge. He glanced back out the front door; through the colored glass she approved of so much, and saw her old car parked in the driveway.

Stepping farther inside he called to her as he shut the door behind him. "Belle?" There was no answer and he checked the downstairs for her. He found nothing. She wasn't in the parlor or the kitchen, her two favorite places in the house, and he could see nothing had been touched in either place since the night before. There were even dishes in the sink from where she'd made breakfast this morning, something he had never seen as she always cleaned up as she cooked. It was late in the evening as well, and generally she had food ready for them both, even though he had never asked her to cook for him. He called for her again, unnerved by the now unnatural silence as he headed up the stairs toward the second floor. "Dearie?"

There was still no answer and he looked into her room when he got upstairs, spotting her on her bed at last. He frowned when he saw her. She was lying over the neatly made bed, fully clothed with her heels still on. She looked as if she had walked up here and simply collapsed on it. She was breathing haltingly, and as he took a step forward a weak, hacking cough left her small body. He raised an eyebrow and went to her, putting his hand on her forehead as he broke his own rule about not entering one another's bedrooms. Of course, she had specified about emergencies, and with her not moving or responding to his calls he would remind her of that if she mentioned anything. He was alarmed when he felt how hot she was and shook her shoulder, all thoughts of personal space out the window in an instant. "Belle?"

She let out a muffled whimper at the shaking and then coughed again, her body shaking from it, as her eyes opened slowly. He was bothered further when he saw a feverish glint to the pretty blue orbs. She put her hand up to her mouth before she was fully awake, coughing into it, and looked at him blearily. "What's the matter?" She asked when she stopped hacking.

"You're sick." He stated.

She closed her eyes again, possibly too tired to keep them open much longer. "I'll be fine tomorrow."

He tended to doubt that with the way she looked. He had seen images of corpses that looked livelier than she did. "Are you hungry? I'll get you something."

"No." She said, curling up farther. "But thank you for asking." He shook his head. There was certainly something wrong with this woman that she would pull the energy out to be polite when she couldn't keep her eyes open. Reaching down he removed her shoes with swift efficiency and she jerked a little when his fingers brushed her ankles. Unperturbed by that he got her free so she would be more comfortable. He set the wedges on the ground and then shoved them under the bed with his cane. Reaching down he grabbed the quilt folded so neatly at the edge of the bed and covered her with it carefully, being sure it covered her all the way over her shoulders so she would stay warm. She was watching him with fevered confusion, her eyes having opened again to see what he was doing. "Thank you, Russell."

"Go back to sleep." He said in way of reply as he ran his thumb over her cheek briefly. As he left he pulled the door half shut so he could hear her if she called for him. He went back downstairs and made himself a sandwich, finding it a rather lonely affair eating by himself now that he was used to sharing his meals again. That only irritated him, that it mattered at all, and he shoved the thoughts aside before finishing his food and going to his office to work on a case their local pharmacist had hired him for. He spent the rest of the evening catching up on paperwork and then went to bed after checking on her. Belle was fast asleep, still cough intermittently, but sleeping all the same. Shaking his head over his own worry he went to bed.

Waking up at dawn, his normal time, he got up and dressed before going to check on the girl. She hadn't moved since he looked in on her the night before, and when he felt her head to check her temperature she was even hotter than she had been before, which was more than alarming. Pressing his lips together he shook her awake gently. She barely stirred despite his insistence in the matter. "Belle." He urged her to wake up more. "Belle, wake up, dearie. You need to get up."

"Tired." She protested weakly.

He had no doubt of that. "We need to get you to a doctor. You're sick."

She tried to bury her face in her pillow as he worked to get her up. "I'm fine. I don't have health insurance anyway."

He was annoyed, surely he had told her she was on his plan now that they were married, and at any rate she had it through the city. "You're on my insurance." He shook her again. "Come on. You need to get up." He urged her up with a gentle coaxing that shocked even him when she stopped coughing, which had suddenly started. "Come on, dearest." He was all but cooing at her, which he found oddly natural. Even with Mila he hadn't dared get so comfortable, not even at the beginning when they had gotten on. "You need to see the doctor." With a small groan she complied, sitting up with his help. Seeing how shaky she was he made sure she was stable before going and getting her a clean dress. He handed it to her and she took it with a heavy, trembling hand. "Can you change by yourself?"

She was surprisingly unbothered by the question. "Yes."

Nodding, he turned and walked out the door, shutting it and waiting for her to finish. He heard her moving about and after a minute or two he knocked. "Are you dressed?"

"Yes." She answered so quietly the door nearly completely muffed the sound. He went back in and saw she was trying to drag on a pair of flats. He went and got her coat off the back of the door as she worked on that and when he came to her she stood up shakily. He helped her into the blue pea coat and grabbed her scarf as he led her out the door. He didn't need her freezing to death on the way to the hospital. Going down the stairs was an adventure in itself, but she kept herself up, he thought mostly through sheer force of will. Finally, they got to the entryway and he wrapped the scarf around her neck as she buttoned her coat. He shrugged his own jacket on and then he was taking her out to the car after locking the house up behind them.

He was so worried by her wobbling when he turned around and saw her standing on the porch that he slid his arm around her waist and took her to the passenger side of the car. She was so clumsy all on her own he didn't even want to imagine the trouble she could get into in a state like this where she could barely keep her legs under her. He opened the door and helped her in, leaning over and buckling her seatbelt. She didn't even react to that, to his body brushing against her, simply let her head fall back against the seat as he blatantly invaded her personal space. Shutting the door carefully he went to the driver's side and got in. He drove to the small hospital, the only place in this town where there was a doctor, and parked at the front of the lot. There were only a handful of cars there so early in the morning, most likely the staff, and he got out and helped her inside.

She leaned against him heavily, her eyes glassy and her skin pale. She started to cough again as they walked through the front doors and he tightened his hold on her waist, urging her forward. The nurse at the reception desk took one look at her and rushed around the counter to help them. "It got another one."

"What?" He asked.

"She's the tenth one to come in here with pneumonia."

"_What?_" He snapped.

"It's gone around the school. Has she been near the children recently?"

Oh, lovely. "There was a field trip to the library a few days ago." She had been happy if exhausted when she came home after that. There was something about Belle children were drawn to, most likely her quirky personality and bright outlook on life, and she always enjoyed it when they came into the library. He knew her reading hour with them was her favorite time of the week and she had been planning for the field trip for at least two days to be sure everything went smoothly for all the teachers.

"There you are then." Belle coughed again as the nurse led them to an exam room. "Come, my love." The older woman urged. "Doctor Whaler will be here in a few minutes." They managed to get her on the exam table between them and she lay down with no prompting, too tired to stay up any longer. "Let me go ahead and page him so he knows you're here and I'll be back to get your vitals."

Belle nodded ever so slightly, which seemed to be all she could now manage after the short trip, and closed her eyes. The nurse patted her shoulder, gave him a reassuring smile, and left them in the cool clinical room to wait. When Belle began to shiver noticeably, even in her coat, he took his own coat off and laid it over her, tucking the thick gray wool around her small frame. He surprised himself when he began to stroke his hand over her hair and she forced her eyes open. She watched him and he gave her a small smile. He saw her confusion all at once and she blinked heavily. "Gold?"

"Yes, dearest?" The endearment fell out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Where are we?"

Troubled, he frowned. "The hospital." That only confused her more and he elaborated at once. "You're sick."

"Oh." She said, her eyes closing again. "I thought I was dreaming again."

"Not this time." He said, wondering what about this situation resembled a dream. "Everything is fine. Just relax."

She began to cough again and he pulled the handkerchief out of his breast pocket and put it in her hand. She clutched at it, holding it to her mouth, as the nurse came back in. She had a chart with her and was quick and gentle as she took all her vital signs. The nurse didn't try to make her sit up, which was no doubt for the best, and when she was done she left, telling him Whaler had just walked in a moment ago.

Less than five minutes later the man stepped in the room with them with the same chart. "This isn't the best way to start a day is it, Belle?" Her eyes fluttered back open when she heard her name and she stared at the doctor quietly. If nothing else Whaler had good bedside manner as he began to check her over. He set the chart down and urged her up with gentle persistence. "Can you sit up for me? Just for a minute?" She tried to push herself up and he ended up leaning over from where he was sitting to helped her. When she was up, if swaying badly, Whaler looked her over. "How long have you been sick?"

She fought for the information. "A day or two I think."

How had he not noticed she had been sick before last night? Guilt crept in then and it had an easy time of it. He had been all but wallowing in it since he had pushed her away so cruelly before Christmas. Belle had reached out a tentative hand of friendship and he had all but hurled her away, making accusations about her motives that he knew very well were ungrounded and unfair. But she had scared him that night, scared him because he saw no other reason for her to want to spend time with him than to get something. It scared him because for just a moment he didn't mind that it was about his money and not him.

Even after she denied any interest in that, even after knowing she hadn't asked for anything from him, he was still convinced for weeks that she was and was bidding her time having been caught. The easy mood in the house had vanished and Christmas had been an awkward and horrible affair from start to finish. He suspected Mrs. Lucas sensed the tension in the air but had said nothing of it while they were over. For her part Belle had played the content wife and he had done his best to pretend he enjoyed the company. He wasn't sure if anyone was fooled, but heard nothing of it afterward. He heard nothing at all about the holiday Belle professed to love so much after that day, and when he came in from the shop the following day all the decorations were down and the small tree she had been so enamored with was gone as if it had never existed.

He wondered what had prompted the removal of it so quickly, but didn't dare ask. Belle was avoiding him for the first time since this had started and that chaffed at him something awful. They still ate dinner together, but she rarely spoke to him anymore as they sat together, and when she did it certainly wasn't the playful banter or sharing of her day the way it had been. He had let the silence sit for weeks, suspicious of her motives, but when nothing happened except her continued withdrawal he realized he had erred badly in his assessment of the whole situation.

It wasn't often he misjudged human nature, but clearly he had this time. All at once he found it quite likely she had told the truth, wanted nothing other than to spend time with him, and he had hurt her feelings rejecting the offer so harshly. The moment the idea finally sank in the guilt rushed in after it. By the time he worked out that some sort of apology was in order the silence had gotten so bad he couldn't find a way to break through it. Now, a full month later in the middle of January he was at loose ends over what to do or how to make this better. All he wanted was to go back to what things had been. He wanted to go back to her smiling at him as he bantered with her. He wanted to know about her days. He wanted to tell her about his. Instead he was stuck in the exact situation he had claimed to want not seven months ago and he hated it more than he could say.

"Have you been this bad the whole time?" Whaler asked.

"No." She said before she started to cough again. As she did she began to list to the left and he saw where that was heading. He reached out fast as lightning and grabbed her to keep her up before she could find a way to topple of the exam table and give herself a concussion on top of the pneumonia.

He spoke up as he held her upright, now on alert for accidental injury due to disorientation. "She was coughing like this last night when I got home."

Whaler nodded. "She certainly has pneumonia." He said as he checked her. "I'll go get the antibiotics she needs." The doctor was talking directly to him now since it was clear Belle was too worn out to care. "I'm putting her on bed rest for at least three days. I really mean that. She can get up to use the bathroom and wash up, that's all. If she gets any worse, I mean at all, you need to bring her back here so we can admit her. We already have three kids up in the ward that are so bad they'll be here for at least two weeks. There's no reason to chance anything. Be sure she's drinking at least six glasses of water a day. If she gets any more dehydrated her organs are going to start to shut down. Gatorade would be a good idea."

"I understand." He said.

Whaler nodded and turned back to his wife, being sure to catch her eye. "Belle?" She looked at him blurrily. "Be good for your husband." He huffed at that and she just blinked again. "And be sure to take all the medicine even if you start to feel better."

"Okay." She said tiredly, but he wasn't convinced she really comprehended that.

Whaler looked at her hard. "I'll have an orderly get a wheelchair for her. I don't think she'll make it all the way out to the car."

He nodded and Whaler left, grabbing the chart as he went. Less than five minutes after that the nurse came in with a bottle filled with large white pills and a wheelchair. Belle slid into it without protest and they took her out to the car. It was even more of a struggle to get her back in bed once he got them home, but he managed, although his leg was protesting something awful by the time it was over. She lay down compliantly and kicked at her shoes tiredly. It was clear she was at the very end of her energy. He grabbed the flats and threw them under the bed after her heels. He took the bottle of medication out of his pocket and gave it to her, handing her the half full glass of water sitting on her bedside table. She took the pill after some coaxing, and he was reminded forcibly of Bae when he was ill, and he was shocked with his own wheedling patience in the whole matter.

When she was done he pulled the blankets over her and she was asleep before he had her tucked in. Worried, he moved her hair back out of her face and then left to go get her some water. He woke her up again to drink two glasses, which she did tiredly, before slipping back into unconsciousness. Afraid to leave her alone he didn't go into the shop at all that day, a first save for one day when he had the flu six years ago and their fake honeymoon eight months ago. It appeared Belle finally got her way about him taking a day off, but he doubted this was what she had in mind when she suggested it. He also doubted either of them would consider this fun in any manner.

He let her sleep until lunch time, checking on her at least every hour, before forcing her to wake up again to drink more water. As much as he hated waking her up when she needed the rest he didn't want her to end up admitted to the hospital. She drank without stopping for nearly ten minutes, which both relieved and worried him more. She also got up long enough to change into her soft pajama pants and a loose t-shirt before curling back up and dropping off. She finally woke up on her own at about seven that evening and he looked up from a file he was reading downstairs, unable to fully stop working, to see her walking shakily toward the kitchen. "What are you doing?" He asked more sharply than he intended.

She looked over, swaying where she stood. "Getting something to drink. I'm thirsty."

"Then I'll get you something." He said as he stood up. "You're supposed to be in bed for the next three days."

"I am?"

"Go on." He shooed her back toward the stairs, herding her with his arm and cane. "Go back to bed." She retreated; sending him and bewildered look laced with exhaustion. He grumbled under his breath about her stubbornness as he went to get her more water and a small snack of cut fruit in the hopes it would tempt her. When he got back up to her room she was sitting up against the headboard with her blanket wrapped around her shoulders so it covered as much of her as possible. He raised an eyebrow and she spoke as she took the water from him.

"It's cold."

"No, you're sick." He told her honestly. He had the heat set high to ward off the winter chill and it was nice and toasty in the house. "I'll get you another blanket."

"Okay." She agreed as she sipped at her water. He came back with one from a cabinet in another spare room and returned to her. She was slumped down again, having finished the water swiftly, and was shivering badly as she huddled under her patchwork quilt. He set the second blanket over her and made sure it covered all of her. "Thank you, Russell." She chattered out as a chill hit her.

"You're welcome." He answered as a nearly forgotten warmth filled him. It had been a long time since he had taken care of someone. A long time since he had been appreciated in that capacity. A long time since anyone trusted him enough to be in that position at all. He found he liked it, liked that he could take care of her, liked that she genuinely appreciated his help, despite his recent attitude toward her. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, I'm okay." She said as she began to fall back asleep.

"Call me if you need something. You have to stay in bed. Do you understand?"

"Yes." She breathed out tiredly. "Stay in bed."

"Good." Reaching down he tucked her hair out of her face again. Her curls seemed to have a mind of their own and he wondered how she kept them in check. "You rest. I'll put more water up here for you in case you get thirsty again. Are you hungry at all?"

"No." She said, clearly worn all the way out from the little activity she had done. "I just don't feel good."

The way she said it prodded at his well-hidden soft spot. This woman was too sweet for him to deal with, too considerate of him when he had given her only reason to resent him, too kind when he was often so waspish. Somehow, against all his reasons and defenses she had wormed her way into his good graces. The real sting of it was he wasn't bothered, and that scared him near to death. It terrified him that he wasn't just fond of her, but was quite enamored. He had sworn never to do this again, and yet here he was, caring for her as she lay sick and miserable on the bed asking for nothing at all, not even his attention.

Sighing at himself and his foolishness he sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her back gently, the way he had with Bae when he had been ill in an effort to comfort her. Belle relaxed all over at the easy touch, clearly both calmed and reassured by the physical contact. He tucked that away for later the way he did with everything. "What's wrong with me?" She asked. "I don't remember anything that Whaler said. It's all mixed up and jumbled."

He was hardly surprised with how disoriented she had been this morning. "You have pneumonia."

"Oh." She said. "Is that what the medicine is for?"

"Yes." He agreed softly.

Her eyes fluttered closed. "That feels nice." He said nothing. "Thank you for helping me today. You didn't have to."

He was quiet for a moment as he rubbed slow, firm circles over her back. She began to cough again and his conscious prodded him sharply. Unused to that he pressed his lips together briefly before speaking. "I'm sorry."

She forced her heavy eyes open and turned her head toward him. "You're sorry? Why are you sorry? You helped me."

He sighed and lifted his hand up so he could get her hair out of her eyes. "For what I said about you wanting something from me. It wasn't kind or fair to you. I certainly didn't live up to my promise to be nice to you."

"You don't have to pretend to want me here." She told him quietly as she let her head fall back to the pillow. "I know you don't."

Bloody hell, this woman was set on destroying what little pride and self-respect he had left for himself and she wasn't even putting effort into it. He shuddered to think what she could accomplish if she decided to start. "I've enjoyed having you here." He told her.

A little laugh left her, which quickly turned into another cough that rocked the whole bed. When it passed she spoke. "God help me if you didn't."

He flinched at that, his hand stilling on her shoulder. "Dearie-"

"I didn't mean to scare you." She said, halfway to sleep.

"You didn't scare me." He lied. She coughed again, putting her hand over her mouth as she tried to speak. When the episode passed he rubbed her neck with firm kneads of his hand to try to end the conversation. She clearly wasn't up for it and frankly neither was he, coward that he was. "You'll feel better in a day or two. Just relax."

"I have to go to work tomorrow."

"No, you aren't going back to work this week." He told her. "You're on bed rest."

That had her fussing. "I have to."

"You have to stay in bed." He corrected. "There's nothing there that can't wait."

She was getting noticeably upset. "She'll fire me."

He frowned. "Who?"

"Mills." She told him. "She said I couldn't miss anymore work."

"You never miss work." He said, knowing full well that not once had he ever passed the library on his way to work had he seen it closed. Belle was possibly the only one in the town that was as contentious as him about being at their job. He doubted she had taken a single sick day in the six years she had worked at the library.

"I did when my dad died." She answered, and he wondered if she was even fully lucid anymore. "A whole week. And then that Monday we went to Cape Cod. She said if I missed anymore she would fire me."

"You have a legal right to miss work for a grieving period." He told her. "As a city employee you're allowed three weeks. And Mills can't fire you, only the full council can."

"She said-"

"Whatever she said was a lie." He said bluntly. He was suddenly very interested in Regina's threats in getting Belle out of the library. He had a feeling that had everything to do with him and the history he had with the mayor as opposed to anything Belle had done wrong.

"No, it's in my contract." She protested.

He frowned deeply. "I wrote your contract before the interviews for the position were even opened. I know what's in it."

"She gave me something else then." Belle told him. "I read it three times before I signed it."

Was there nothing Regina could be trusted with? He had spent well over three days working on that damn thing before the position opened. Why she would change it he had no idea, but if she had he was going to find out. He was also going to be sure Belle had the correct one as the council had agreed on it. He doubted they would be any happier about finding out the mayor had switched contracts either. Even as the head of the town she didn't have the right to do that, and it also cast doubt on whether she had done that to other people being paid by the city. This really didn't look good when elections were coming up this year. He was sure he could use this to his advantage if he could see proof. "Where is it?"

"In my desk at work. Top drawer in the back."

He continued to rub her as he wondered how to repay Regina for harassing Belle. "I'll go get it and look at it again. Are the keys on your key ring?"

"Yes." She said. "I won't get in trouble for being sick?"

"No, you won't." He promised. "Stop worrying about this. I want you to rest."

"Maybe I should get a note from the doctor." She mumbled.

"I'll take care of that too." He promised. "Try to rest, dearie. We can talk more when you're feeling better."

"Okay." She agreed as her eyes fluttered closed. He kept rubbing her back until she passed back out. It didn't take her long, not even five minutes, and when she was asleep he watched her for another minute before dragging himself away from her. He was reluctant to leave her alone, but knew staying here was inappropriate. She was fine, even if she was sick, and it was clear the antibiotics were already working since she had gotten up for a bit on her own. Going back downstairs he located her keys and set them next to his own so he wouldn't have to hunt for them in the morning.

That done he went into his office and pulled one of his filing cabinets open. His fingers flicked through papers and within seconds he had a copy of the contract Belle was supposed to have. He flipped through it slowly, being sure it was what he remembered even if he had drawn it up years ago. As he thought, she was given much more time for grieving than she had taken. He had thought she had wanted to return to work to get her mind off things but that clearly wasn't the case. She was also allowed a regular two weeks off a year on top of government holidays or emergency closures due to natural disasters or snowstorms, as was far more likely in Storybrooke. Her salary was listed, as was her yearly increase, which was small but no doubt made a difference to Belle. What really bothered him more than anything was that she was supposed to have health insurance. What was more she was allowed to have family on it. While a spouse and children were the norm, the contract allowed her to add any blood relative on as long as she was willing to pay an extra twenty dollars out of her paycheck per person.

The girl was more than smart enough to have done that if she knew it was an available option. With her father's income all going to either the shop or into the loan he had no doubt she would have put him on her insurance. However, she had claimed not to have any insurance at all, not even for herself. If that was true, and hadn't been due to her confusion due to the pneumonia, then were in the bloody hell had the money for Mo French's treatment come from? Cancer treatment wouldn't have been cheep, not here where health care was big business. This wasn't a country that had access to free medical care and he knew very well being treated as extensively as the man had been must have been costly. He wouldn't be surprised if had edged up close to half a million dollars. It could well be more than that.

Frowning, he turned that over for a moment before setting the contract aside and going back to his files. Within a minute he had another piece of paper in his hand. Whaler's signature was on it, along with Nolen's. Since he was the only lawyer in town he had to sign nearly every legal document that came up, including forms indicating that life insurance terms were met. Sure enough he had signed one for Mo French, something he barely remembered doing as he had been dealing with his immigration issues at the time and had been distracted. Flipping through the pages he found what he was looking for and let out a low breath.

It may have been true that Mo French had not been the best businessman, but he was clearly a good father. He had invested what little extra income he had into Belle's future as diligently as he was investing in Bae's. She had inherited a large sum of money with his passing, enough to cover the loan she had co-signed on as well as enough to live on for some time. He knew very well she never would have agreed to this deal if she could have paid him what she owed him, so where had the money gone? The only answer was to those medical bills. The medical bills that should have, in large part, been covered by the insurance she didn't bloody know she had access to.

He pressed his lips together hard and slammed the paperwork over his desk as his temper flared. Shutting the cabinet with a snap he realized he should try to be quiet as she was sleeping but was so angry he could barely see straight. Leaving his office he headed to the door knowing she would be asleep for at least a few hours, if not until the next day. Taking both sets of keys he left the house, being sure it was locked securely behind him. Getting in his car he drove to the library and after some sorting through keys opened the front door and went inside.

Going to the circulation desk he walked around behind it and began searching for her contract after he unlocked the desk drawer she had indicated as well. He found it with little trouble and squinted to see it in the darkness of the closed library. He knew it wasn't the right one within three sentences. He could feel his temper reaching dangerous levels as he tore through the damn thing. Sure enough Belle had told him the correct information. According to the false document she was out of sick days, Mills could dismiss her at any time, and there was nothing about health care in the entire thing. The only thing that was at all similar was the yearly increase in salary, but it was less than it should be. He clutched at the paper as he smacked it down over the desk. He was going to kill Regina for this.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Checking on Belle the next morning he found she was still deeply asleep. Her breathing was easier today than it had been yesterday, but was still noticeably off from what it should be. Stepping into her room quietly he felt her forehead and found she still had a temperature. Unhappy with that, but knowing it would take more than a day for this to pass he made sure the blanket was fully over her and left after writing her a brief note letting her know she wasn't in the house. He didn't want her to wake up while he was gone and get up when she was supposed to stay right where she was. He would be back soon and he made sure she had enough water beside her to keep her in bed if she was thirsty before leaving.

He knew Regina would be at work already and wanted to catch her now before she was awake enough to mount a defense. Regina was never at her best before she had two to three cups of coffee and he had no intention of making this a fair fight after this stunt. He and Regina had a… complicated relationship to say the least. Over the years he had learned more about Regina than she had learned about herself, which was fortunate for him and very unfortunate for her. He had met Regina when she was fourteen and he was thirty. He had found her a charming girl with a fondness for horses that was nearly bordering on obsession. However, he didn't find this out of the ordinary for a girl her age and took little notice of it. At the time he had only just started coming to America in search of business opportunities and had met her mother at a local bar as he traveled about New England looking for likely places to start a business and set down roots.

Cora had been charming in every way. She was a beautiful woman, seductive, clever, and set on finding a partner that could take care of her. He had been fascinated with her the moment he met her, as he was often drawn to women as interested in advancing in this world as he was. She was a shark, and so was he. It was no wonder they had gotten on so well. They had started an affair that very night and he would be a liar if he didn't admit he had found it deeply satisfying. It lasted about six months as he went back and forth between the two countries and she provided him with as many tips and insights into the way things worked here as she did into what a woman liked in bed. Always eager to learn on all fronts he had added an unbelievable amount of information to his bases.

When she had introduced him to her daughter a few months into the relationship he had been more than willing to get to know her. He had no problem with children and at the time had wanted some of his own once he was properly settled. That Cora couldn't have been more than fifteen when she had her daughter was also of no consequence to him. The woman had clearly handled the situation and was slowly and surly climbing up the social ladder to get what she wanted, which was apparently everything. He saw no problem with this either as he had the same goal, although they appeared to view power slightly differently. They had done well together for a short period and it was one of the happiest times in his life if he were honest with himself, coming in only after Bae's childhood and surprisingly his current situation with Belle.

Then, of course, the whole thing had fallen apart in the most spectacular fashion. He found out, and only because she told him, that she was married. What was worse, she had decided to return to her husband as he had been elected to a major political office. She had chosen the life of a pampered political wife over him, and stolen several lucrative assets they had been gathering together right out from under him. He had been utterly blindsided for the first time in his life and it had more than stung. Cora had not broken his heart, but all out shredded it, leaving mangled pieces behind her as she walked away like nothing had happened between them. He had withdrawn, angry and hurt, and not contacted her again. A few years later he had met Mila and had been drawn into a different life.

Unfortunately, ten years later when he had decided to settle in Storybrooke after a great deal of debate Regina had ended up in the same town purely by chance. He learned, after a ridiculous and convoluted social dance with her that lasted well over eight months, that she blamed him for the majority of the problems her parents had over the years. Considering he had no idea Cora had been married to begin with when they started seeing each other, and he hadn't had contact with her in a decade, he found this a bit of a stretch. If she stepped out on her husband it was hardly his fault, and the resulting issues they had once he was gone had nothing to do with him. By that time he had his own wife and young child to worry about, which was why he was setting things up here to begin with.

Regina clearly didn't see it that way, as she made clear with her usual blunt iciness. Had he been in a different situation he would have ignored her, but being new in town and with her already positioned in a good political place he had been forced to play her game with her or go elsewhere. As it had taken him several years of meticulous research to pick this place to begin with he wasn't overly keen on relocating, especially as he had already started investing in this town. So, having braced himself, he had become her ally and they had prospered together even if he prospered far more monetarily. Regina took after her mother in several respects though, and was far more interested in the political power involved than the money, so in her mind she had done better than he had. Sadly, she still had the delusion that she was in charge here when she hadn't been past the first year of their rekindled relationship as he taught her how to move effectively and quickly through the politics of a small town. She was a good student, but her own ego blinded her to her faults.

It seemed Regina's obsessive tendencies had not diminished over the years, simply shifted focus. She became so trapped in them that she failed to see other forces at work, allowing him to control her far more easily than she would care for, or even comprehended. What was even worse, in his opinion, was that she could never work out how he kept manipulating her even though he went about it the same way time and again. Really, it was quite sad, and he wondered how Cora's ability to excel had not been passed on. Eventually though, Regina lost interest in blaming him for all the troubles of her past and latched onto another woman in town, who in some convoluted way had ruined her life in an even more dramatic fashion. The whole thing was ridiculous and he truly pitied Mary Margaret as she was about as dangerous as a pet rabbit and Regina had all the empathy of a fox out for the kill.

But as it only made the mayor more pliable he left her to her own devices to make his life easier. However, after what he worked out last night he had clearly left her alone far too long. It was time to put her on a much shorter leash as she was now running wild. What prompted her to do this to begin with was beyond him. He had no doubt the money she was stealing was attractive, but the mayor's main motivation in life was not accumulating money. He was sure something else was going on in that head of hers, but what it was this time he wasn't sure. He had no connection with Belle when she was hired six years ago. He had only met the woman once before she interviewed for the position and that was only in passing when he was leaving her father's shop. At the interview he had found her competent enough, and certainly a better choice than the other two applicants, who knew nothing about the dewey decimal system or basic computer programs they would need to be able to use to function properly. Since Miss French had shown proficiency in both she was the clear choice.

He had given his nod of approval to her and thought no more of her until Belle showed up in his shop with a problem. Why she was originally targeted as a victim then he still wasn't sure. It could be as simple as Regina didn't like that she was pretty and smart, or it could be as complicated as her using the money she was stealing from Belle and who knew who else to fund some future campaign. After they were married, well, he could fill in the blanks himself even if Belle couldn't. He was sure Regina got it into her head that since he was to blame for the ruination of her parent's marriage she would go ahead and destroy his, and what better way than to attack his new bride? It irritated him more than a little, and the convoluted, twisted relationship they had hardly helped. Like it or not they were connected, and short of a severe circumstance they would also be affecting one another as long as they both lived here. He owned too much to be ignored and she ran too many things to keep out of his way. What Regina failed to realize was that money still trumped politics every time. She might have power, might revel in that, but he had more as he all but owned her position. He had put her in the mayor's chair and would take her out as he saw fit. She had given him a good reason to find someone new to back.

Leaving the house quietly he made sure it was locked tightly and went to his car, ignoring the weather. Winter had never been his favorite season and his current mood was hardly helping his feelings toward it. The drive to the mayor's office was uneventful and the walk in even less so. Not many in Storybrooke had done more than stirred awake at this point and he liked the atmosphere.

Getting to her office door he didn't bother to knock. He simply pushed the door fully open and stepped in, ready for a fight she didn't know was coming. "Morning, dearie." He said with glinting eyes.

Regina, dressed as impeccably as ever, looked up from whatever paperwork she had no doubt just started and took him in. She gave him one of her cold smiles, which told him she was about as happy to see him as she was to have a tooth pulled without anesthesia. He really thought this woman needed to start letting things go. Over twenty years was a long time to hold a grudge, especially considering he had funded her first political campaign. Really, they had far newer matters to squabble over than her tramp of a mother. "Mr. Gold." She said with all the genuine warmth of an icicle. "You're here bright and early this morning." She indicated the long, stylish table sitting against a wall under a mirror with a manicured hand. "Coffee?"

"No." He said, watching her intently. It was hard to intimidate this woman, but hardly impossible. He had known her long enough now, had enough on her without what he'd come to talk about to set her teeth on edge.

"I know it must be important for you to ignore the frivolity of civil practice." She went back to her paperwork, feigning composure. "So what is it you want?"

He sat down at the chair across from her and got comfortable. He tapped a finger over the head of his cane and she ignored him as she signed her name on something. After several moments he broke the silence, waiting until she was halfway through a signature. "Do you know what irritates me even more than politicians?"

She didn't bother to look up. "I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"Politicians that think they're smart."

"Fascinating." She said without more than marginal attention. "Who on the counsel has blipped on your radar this time?" He gave her a cold smile as she looked up and she narrowed her eyes at the implication. Slowly, she set her pen down. "And what have I done?"

"Been far less clever than you thought you were."

"I don't have time for this today, Gold."

"I assure you that you do." Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a copy of Belle's fake contract. He tossed it on the desk between them. "I would _love_ for you to explain this to me."

Regina picked up the papers to see what they were and he would give her some credit for keeping a straight face. "It looks like the contract for the position of librarian. What about this needs explaining? You wrote it."

"Wrong. Try again." He said, his voice full of venom. She said nothing and he pushed on. "Where's the money, Regina?"

"What money?" She asked.

"The money that you've clearly been pocketing from her yearly raise, paid days off, and most importantly her insurance." The money had to be leaving the Storybrooke accounts or someone would have noticed long before now. Regina had been at this for a long time and they had a meticulous, if dull, accountant working for the city. The old crone would have brought this up at a counsel meeting if she was five cents off her budget. He saw worry in the mayor's face for the briefest moment and knew she was ferreting it away somewhere.

"I could hardly know you had an interest in her." She said after a protracted moment, having picked a strategy at last. It appeared she was going to try her form of groveling as opposed to denial, which needed more than a little work as she came off haughty and smug even on her best attempts.

"Where's the money?" He repeated dangerously.

"There is no money."

His temper rose higher. "Regina, dear, do not make me take this public. I think we both know this isn't the only contract you changed. Do you realize the level of fraud you've committed?" She could certainly be put in jail for this. If he was estimating correctly he had written at least forty-two contracts for long-term city employees since she took office eight years ago. While he doubted all of them had been tampered with he was sure a number of them had. It would be an easy matter to find out which ones, would take him no more than one newspaper article and waiting in his office for those people to show up at his door demanding he look at what they had been given when they took their jobs.

"It's only illegal if you get caught." She pointed out.

"I'm afraid the authorities won't agree with that perspective." He told her. "And if you haven't realized it, I've caught you."

"You aren't the authorities." She pointed out, putting on her charm smile for him.

"No, I'm much worse." He assured her. "And do not for one moment think I won't turn you in."

"You wouldn't dare-"

"Do not test me!" He snapped. "You have cheated my wife out of a very large inheritance because she didn't know she had access to health care for herself or her father! I expect that money back in her account in the next three months or so help me, I will not only sue you beyond all reckoning, I will take on every other case of those you've stolen from!" She pressed her lips together hard and he went on. "Further, you will amend all these contracts immediately! I won't be dragged to prison with you if you get found out and they think I've helped you!"

"You know very well I can't do that until next quarter or it will look-"

"I hardly care what it looks like!" He snarled. Next quarter was still three and a half months away. That was far too long. Someone else could find out by then and he would get sucked into her mess. He would have no part of that, not after all the trouble he'd gone to this year to stay in this country. "You will fix this!"

Regina was fuming. "I'll re-issue contracts next quarter."

"Consider how well you will look in an orange jumpsuit." He suggested silkily. "Because I will have you in one long before next quarter." Regina seemed to have forgotten who was in charge here. "This is my town, dearie, not yours. You have a temporary position by any definition, and I am fully capable of making it much more temporary than you would like. One phone call and I will have you in prison. Three days and I will have every asset, earned or stolen, that you've managed to put together." He leaned forward and met her eyes. "Imagine what I could do in a week."

"You're bluffing." She snapped aggressively.

"You think that." He said as he stood up. Reaching back into his jacket he pulled out his card and wrote a number on it. He tossed it in front of her with a flick of his wrist. "That's the correct amount. If every penny isn't accounted for I'll be displeased."

Regina picked up the card and blanched. "This is outrageous!"

"Not nearly as outrageous as stealing millions from the town. Every penny, Regina." He turned to go and then paused. Turning back around he leaned on his cane as he held it in front of him. "And if I find that you're bothering Belle again, for any reason, you will deeply regret it."

Regina was furious. "All this for your brainless little trophy wife?"

He smiled at her coldly and she faltered. "Be very careful, dearie."

All at once Regina sat back in her chair. "Oh my, you really care for her."

"Do you think I would have married her otherwise?" He asked, unwilling to examine his feelings on this at the moment. It unsettled him that she was right about that if nothing else. She gave him a look that told him very well she did think that. "Three months." He told her. "Not one day more, and I will be going through all the contracts, so be sure you get them all."

She said nothing to that, only glared at him, and he smirked at her before leaving. She deserved to have some salt rubbed into the wound for that. If he wanted to gloat about it, well, he allowed himself that pleasure. He was sure Belle had suffered far worse from Regina than what his satisfaction in her plight could make up for. Leaving her office he went into his shop for a few hours to be sure everything was in order. He spent several hours there, moving through things at a swift pace so he could be back home by the time lunch rolled around. He didn't want to leave her alone any longer than that even if he had told her in the note to call him on his cell phone if she needed anything. He simply wasn't convinced that she would actually call if she needed something. He found it far more likely that she would try to do whatever she needed herself and collapse somewhere in the house, no doubt injuring herself in the process.

With an actual purpose to get something other than work done he found he finished more quickly than he had thought possible. By the time eleven thirty rolled around he had more done in a few hours than he generally got done in a full day. Pleased with himself he left, closing his shop behind him. Walking across the street he went to the diner and stepped inside. Oddly enough, he was becoming a regular here thanks to Belle and no one even twitched at the sight of him anymore having been desensitized to his presence. Considering the first few times they'd come in together the whole restaurant had been in silent in shock at seeing him out and about with no interest in causing a stir it was a change. Now, after having Belle dragging him around town with her he was causing much less of a stir than he used to. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had rather liked the disturbance he caused walking through town, had enjoyed the fear that followed him as everyone wondered who he was after. Still, there was something to be said about other people treating him like a normal person, even if he was trying to maintain some distance from them as a whole.

Stepping up to the counter Ruby met him. He could tell she still wasn't overly fond of him, but was no longer trying to work out a way to pry Belle out of his clutches. He had heard her trying to get Belle out of the house on more than one occasion and was sure she was working on a way to get her involved with another man that would be enough of a lure for her to end the marriage. He also suspected she was too busy to worry over him right at this moment as the lunch rush started. "Mr. Gold." She said as she watched three more people walk in. "What can I get for you?"

"Do you have any soup?" He asked, thinking of the most generic and bland thing he could. Belle hadn't eaten in at least a day and a half and he needed to get something in her other than water.

"French onion or broccoli and cheddar." She told him.

Neither of those sounded very appealing, but he wasn't Belle. "What do you think Belle would prefer?" He asked, both wanting to know and trying to make some sort of peace with the other woman. It would be in everyone's best interest if they could get along.

"Is she coming?" Ruby asked. "You might want to get a table before they're all taken."

"No, she's sick. I was going to bring her something."

That had the waitress softening toward him all at once when she realized he was taking care of her friend, no matter how grudgingly. "Is she all right?"

"She will be in a few days." He told her. "Whaler has her on bed rest."

"Oh." Ruby wasn't happy with that news. "Give me five minutes and I'll have something ready for her." He nodded and she surprised him when she got him a glass ice tea to drink while he waited. He sipped at it quietly and watched people coming in and picking places as another waitress began to take orders with Granny bustling out to lend a hand. Ruby was good to her word and came out with a large brown bag very soon after she left. She set it in front of him and he was reaching for his wallet when she waved him away. "Just tell her to feel better. I'll come see her this weekend."

"Very well." He picked up the bag, finding it heavier than he anticipated. "I appreciate it, dearie." She nodded and he left without further comment and headed home. When he went inside he was once again greeted by that unsettling silence and figured she was still in bed. Tossing his keys and wallet aside he headed up the stairs with the bag of food, curious as to what Ruby had included.

He was pleased to find Belle was awake, if groggy, and she lifted her head a little when she heard him. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he stepped into the room and saw she was up.

"Better." She said tiredly as her head fell back to the pillow. "The medicine is helping."

He moved farther in the room and took her in critically. "At least you aren't transparent anymore."

"Can I get up now?" She asked.

"No." He told her. "Not until tomorrow evening." She sighed, which turned into another hacking cough, and he raised his eyebrow as she proved why she wasn't allowed up. "I got you something to eat." He told her as he set the bag on the small table that was next to her bed after brushing the empty water bottles and antibiotics aside. He was pleased she had been drinking while he was gone.

"Not hungry." She told him tiredly.

"You haven't eaten in days. Try something for me."

"Okay." She relented with a sigh. He opened the bag to see what was inside and she worked on sitting up while he was busy. She managed to prop herself up against the headboard and ran her hand through her hair, making it even worse a mess than it had been before she touched it. He said nothing about it as he began to pull out containers. He found a large bowel of chicken noodle soup, apple slices, and some toast for Belle and pulled out a spoon for her that Ruby had also shoved into the bag as if he didn't have any. Glancing around he spotted a small lap desk she must use for either reading or working on her small netbook. Picking it up he set it on her lap and plunked the food down onto it quickly. "Thank you." She said sincerely, even if she wasn't really hungry.

"You're welcome." He replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. He continued to search through the bag, wondering what else Ruby thought she was going to eat. He pulled out the last box and saw the waitress had written his name on it. Surprised that she had thought to get anything for him he opened it, finding a cheeseburger and fries inside. Raising an eyebrow he turned a little so he could see Belle as he sat beside her. The girl had folded her legs under her carefully to help balance herself and the tray she was eating on was tilted at such an angle he was waiting for everything to simply slip off the side. At least it was tilted away from him and not toward him.

She looked at him when she found the soup was still too hot to eat quickly. "Did you get this at Granny's?"

"Yes."

"You didn't need to go to all that trouble." She told him.

"Picking up food is hardly a great deal of trouble." He said dryly. "Especially considering my culinary skills."

She smiled in amusement. "You really aren't nearly as bad as you think you are. I've seen you putting things together when there's actually food in the kitchen for you to work with."

"I do make a very good turkey sandwich." He agreed so seriously that she almost snorted soup out her nose as she was taking another bite. His lip curled up as she got herself back under control. "Ruby said she would come see you this weekend."

"Okay." She said tiredly, not sounding at all pleased with the prospect.

Reaching out on impulse he stroked her hair back out of her face. "You don't have to see her if you don't feel well."

"I'll be better by then." He wasn't totally convinced by that but let it go as he started to eat his own meal. They were both quiet after that and she picked at her food. He didn't push her about it as she was at least getting something in her stomach and when he was finished and it was clear that she was too he put the remains of the food back in the bag so he could dispose of it.

When he was done he glanced over and saw she was slumping again. "Did you take your medicine?"

"Yeah." She answered. "I do feel better."

"Liar." He told her with suppressed affection. "Are you going to be okay here by yourself if I go back to the shop?"

"I'll be fine." She told him with a tired smile. "All I'm going to do is lay here."

"All right." He agreed, now convinced that she was going to behave and stay in bed. "I'll be bake by five at the latest."

"Okay." She said as she lay back down. "You don't need to hurry. I don't think I'm going to be very good company for the next few days."

He had never thought her bad company, sick or well. "Just rest." He told her. "And call me if you need something."

"I'm not going to bother you at work." She told him, which he found overly considerate of her.

"It's not a bother." He told her. "Promise me you'll call if something happens. I'd rather know than walk in on an emergency."

"I promise." She said after a moment when it became clear he was serious. "Thank you for checking on me."

"I'll see you in a bit, dearie." He said in way of farewell. She hummed in agreement as he left and when he looked back her eyes had fluttered closed. At least when she was sick he didn't have to worry about her loosing sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

She had snuck home early, taking a few personal hours at the library in order to make him a cake. She supposed she could have bought him one, but that lacked the personal touch she wanted, and besides he was so very picky about sweets. It had taken all her cleverness to work out what his favorite flavor even was, and then another day on the Internet to find a recipe that she thought would be both good and with a mix that was likely to stay moist for several days so they could finish the cake themselves. She hoped the one she found, which was not at all a traditional making of the cake, would strike his persnickety fancy.

When she got it out of the oven she at least thought it smelled appealing. Placing the two small cakes on a cooling rack, as she was going to layer it, she set about making the rest of the meal. It was a hectic hour, although she would admit she had a good time. It wasn't often she cooked such elaborate meals, and she enjoyed it when she had the time and was properly motivated. By the time he got home she had the whole kitchen back under control, having cleaned as she went, and the cake layered and covered in a cream cheese icing. She had set it on an antique cake plate she had found up in a spare bedroom of all places when she was looking for a broom one day. She had even got him a few birthday candles for it. The table was set prettily and the small gift she got him was wrapped and covered with more ribbons than the box could really handle. It looked ridiculous, and it was, but that made it funny and despite himself he liked funny things.

He stepped into the kitchen with interest, do doubt drawn by the smell and noises she was making, and she smiled as she was placing a second full plate in front of her chair. "Happy birthday!" She said happily as he took in the scene with the oddest expression. He stood in the doorway silently and she began to falter when he said nothing with his blank face on. "Russell?"

He seemed to shake out of whatever he was thinking. "What is this?"

"Your birthday dinner." She told him. She knew it was his birthday, she'd had to memorize it when they were getting ready to get married. March fifth, she was sure.

He stepped closer to the table, edging toward it as if it might strike at him, and took in what was on it. She had done her best to make all his favorites, having gone so far as to order a few specialty items all the way from Scotland, including the spice she used on the white fish she had gotten off the docks this morning and hidden in the back of the fridge before racing back to work so she wouldn't be late. It had been a tricky business leaving early enough to go pick it up but not alert him that she was off her normal routine. "You made all this?"

"Yes." She said without worry as she walked around and started herding him into his chair. "This isn't the time of year for cod, but I thought you would like halibut as a substitute."

He sat a little heavily as she all but pushed him down into his seat, but said nothing about it. He was simply looking over all the sides she had made to go with the fish. He noted easily they were all his favorites that would go with the fish as the main entrée and was clearly a little stunned that she knew what they were, as if she hadn't been paying attention to what he ate more of. His reaction was making her wonder when the last time someone had pampered him was. His eyes slid to the cake and she hummed as she went to get them drinks. "You didn't need to go to all this trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble." She told him as she brought them both water. "This was fun for me, and besides, it's your birthday." She had finally thrown him. It was clear he had no idea how to react to this and she knew pointing out the awkwardness would only upset him, so instead she moved about as if nothing odd were going on. Still, this was bothering her, how much he was bothered. No one should be this shocked to have someone think of them on their birthday. "Do you want to open your present now or after dinner?"

He sent her an odd look. "What?"

She repeated herself patiently as she got them drinks. "Do you want to open your present now or after dinner?"

"Dinner isn't the present?" He asked, looking over the table with visible disbelief.

She sent him an amused glance. "Well no." When he said nothing she set a glass of ice water down at his place and slid into her seat and helped him out. "We always did the present after dinner."

He tried to reorient himself, but for the first time he was really having visible difficulty doing so. "You seem to like your traditions. I would hate to change one."

She smiled at him. "Okay." She put her napkin in her lap and he slowly followed her lead. They had a nice meal, and she could tell he was deeply pleased with everything even if he was trying to hide just how pleased he was. He ate far more than he usually did, not picking at the meal the way he normally did. She took that as a good sign and that he must like it, and when he sat back with obvious contentment she got up to clear the table. When he moved to help she poked at him so he sat back down. "No cleaning up on your birthday."

He sighed, but didn't fight her on it. She put everything out of the way quickly to clean later and came back with wine, glasses, and his gift. She set the box in front of him and he couldn't stop a snort at the sight of it. Really, it clashed in everyway possible. Her eyes twinkled as she poured them wine. "Go on then."

"It may take me until we finish that bottle to undo all the ribbons."

She laughed as she sat back down. "You can just slide them off." She told him, having made sure that was possible to speed the process up. After looking at the box for another moment, no doubt amused by the multitude of colors and patterns, he slid the assortment of ribbons off the box. When it was free he tore the paper and opened the box. He pulled out her gift and held up a lovely green tie. He raised an eyebrow in amusement and she batted her eyes at him. "I thought you might need a new one." She said innocently. It was her fault, she had accidently spilled bleach on his a few weeks ago when she was doing laundry and had felt horrible even though all he had done was sigh at the sight of the ruined thing. It had been his favorite tie and she knew it. He had not allowed her to do laundry since then, but she wasn't about to complain about it. He had also been good enough to tell her it wasn't fair that she was doing this as she was already cooking, and she should leave this to him. Of course, what he was really saying was that he didn't want her to destroy anymore of his clothes, but he had tried to be tactful.

"Thank you." He said, his lip twitching.

She just smiled and pointed at the box. "You've given up too soon."

Surprised, he set the tie on the table and reached back in the box, his finger rustling in the tissue paper. He pulled out a pair of gold cuff links and his eyebrows shot up. She had found he was a man of few vices save his wardrobe. The rest was really just a front of wealth, a way to show he had power. His wardrobe though, that was a totally different story. He took pride in that, he enjoyed it, and she knew it. The tie she had intended to replace anyway. The cuffs were the real gift. She had briefly considered getting him a different metal, but nothing silver she saw seemed to fit him. At last she had settled on gold cuffs that appeared to be made of knotted thread.

"Thank you." He said sincerely as he took in the cuff links.

"You're welcome." She replied as she set his wine in front of him. "I hope you had a nice birthday."

He cleared his throat. "I did, thank you."

She was quiet as she studied him, sensing that something was off. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." He said, sending her a small smile. "This was very thoughtful, Belle. I very much enjoyed it."

Something didn't seem right. "Something's wrong." She insisted.

"I was expecting a call." He said after a few moments.

"A call from who?" She asked curiously.

"My son." He answered softly, his eyes distant.

That caught her totally off guard. Not once in all this time had he mentioned a child. There were no pictures anywhere, and while that seemed a terribly important thing for them to have discussed when they were preparing for someone to come ask them about each other should his citizenship come into question, he had never said. Why he hadn't told her something so important was beyond her. "You have a son?"

"I do." He agreed. "He always calls on my birthday and holidays. Perhaps he forgot this year." He took a drink of his wine.

She wasn't sure where to start with this information. There was so many sudden questions and curiosity she felt lost as to which direction to go first. "Why didn't you tell me you had a son?"

"It didn't seem to matter."

"It matters to you." She pointed out, thinking that was the worst lie he had ever uttered in her presence. If he was visibly bothered about not getting a call it clearly mattered a great deal. "Tell me about him. What's his name? How old is he?"

"His name is Neal, but he hates it, so he goes by his middle name. He's thirteen now." A small smile of heartbreaking happiness filled his face for a moment before it vanished as fast as it appeared.

She wanted to get that smile back. "What's his middle name?"

"Bae." He told her.

"Where is he?"

"In Scotland with his mother." She saw the bitterness then and wondered if this was why it had been so hard for her to connect with him. A bad break up… well, she'd had her own. It made letting someone else in hard.

"You must miss him." She said gently.

"There's not a word to describe how I feel not seeing him." He told her. "Children should be with their parents."

Reaching out she caught his hand with hers in an effort to comfort him. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "Does he ever visit? I'd like to meet him." She really meant that too.

"No, he doesn't." He said, his expression going blank.

"Why not?" She asked gently, knowing if she pushed too hard he would shut down on her. She had never seen him truly vulnerable before. She was amazed he was letting her see it now.

"His mother has custody. She won't let him."

"Could you go see him?" She suggested, thinking if ever there was a way to get him to stop working this might be it.

"Not anymore." He said, looking at their hands as he spoke. Slowly, he turned his and laced their fingers together. She caught her breath quietly, making no effort to try to stop him. "His mother and I don't have a good relationship. She won't let me see him anymore."

"That's not right." She said. She wondered how you could do that to your child, to deny them seeing their father. She wondered how you could hate someone so much that you had a child with to do that. It was true he wasn't the easiest man to deal with, but he wasn't a bad man. It was clear he missed his child. She couldn't imagine keeping him away from his son.

"I don't think she's overly concerned with what's right." He answered.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Three years ago." He told her, his voice tinged with sadness and regret. "Almost four now."

Her heart clenched for him and she bent her fingers so they were locked with his. "I'm sorry, Russell." She said sincerely.

"It's hardly your fault, dearie."

She watched him for a moment before trying to make him a bit more optimistic. He had been happy not ten minutes ago. He should be happy on his birthday and really, it was still early in the evening. "It's still early." She told him. "Not even seven. He might be waiting to be sure you're home before he calls."

"Perhaps." He said as he rubbed his thumb over hers, although there was no conviction in it. It was as if he had simply been waiting for this day, for the day his son stopped calling and vanished from his life completely.

She had a great deal more questions, but realized she needed to tread terribly carefully for the moment. Humming the way she did when she thought he was being silly about something she gently pulled her hand from his and picked the tie up. As she tossed it around his neck she decided it had been a good choice when she saw it against him, even if it was a bit crazy looking against the patterned shirt he had on today. "I think we better eat your cake while you wait for that call."

He gave her a small smile, allowing her to cheer him up. "Cake with wine?"

"It's a desert wine." She defended staunchly and his lips twitched like mad, his near grief vanishing. Moving the cake to the center of the table she put a few candles in it and lit them with a match. Shaking it when she was done she smiled at him. "Go on then. Make a wish and blow them out." Shaking his head he leaned forward and did just that. "You better have made a wish." She told him.

"I can't very well tell you what it was." He told her with false seriousness.

She laughed at that and cut the cake, placing a piece each on two small plates. She set one in front of him and he tried to work out what the flavor was as he saw the odd color of the cake itself. "You're determined to make me fat I believe." He told her.

"You caught me." She teased. "I married you just for that."

"I knew it." He said as he picked up a clean fork and got a bit of the cake. "What is this?"

"Cake." She said innocently as she took a bite of it herself. She was pleased how it had turned out. It was spicy, but not so much that it was unpleasant. It certainly wouldn't be her first choice for a cake, but the moment Russell got a good taste she knew it would be his.

He swallowed and spoke. "Cinnamon cake?"

"Do you like it? I've never made it before. I wasn't sure how it would turn out."

"Very much." He said with real pleasure. "I've never had a cinnamon cake before."

That made her pretty happy, that she could surprise him with a first. "I'm glad you like it. I know it's your favorite flavor."

That threw him again, that she had noticed, but he hid it a little better this time. "It is." He agreed quietly as they ate the cake. When he was finished, clearly unable to eat anymore even if she tried to force more down his throat, he relaxed fully back into the chair. She smiled at him as she sipped at her wine, not quite as full as he was, but still stuffed. "Thank you, Belle." He said with a contented sigh.

"You're welcome." She answered. He was about to say something else when the phone rang. His eyes lit up at the sound and she smiled. "There you are." She said, pleased for him.

He got up quickly and went into his office to answer it and she got up to clean up their mess. Russell vanished into his office and she went about getting the kitchen in order. It took her about twenty minutes to get it back to the way she liked it, and with it near to sparkling and all the leftovers stored away she wondered how long he would be on the phone. She tucked the tie and cuff links back in the box and set it on the table next to the cake plate, which was covered to keep it moist. She then retreated to the parlor and started a fire while she waited for him. He never seemed to mind when she did that, although with the heater there was no better reason for using the fireplace than that she liked the sight of it. Besides, it was March in Maine, and if this wasn't a good month for a fire she didn't know what was.

When she was sure it was going she curled up on the couch and watched the flames as she waited for him to finish. This had been a good month, much better than the previous ones as far as she was concerned. Whatever had sent him running that night she had tried to reach out to him seemed to have passed, although she still didn't know what had changed his mind about it. All she knew were half remembered bits of a three-day stretch of sickness, confusion, and his surprising kindness. She had a feeling they spoke far more than she could recall, but everything was jumbled. She knew he was there, knew he was being patient with her, knew he was taking care of her. No one had taken care of her in a long time. It seemed she had always been the one taking care of people no matter how willingly she had given that help. It was just completely… backwards to have someone else care for her.

The one thing she did recall very clearly was the apology he gave her, which had been both sincere and awkward for him. She had accepted it, thinking that he just wanted to smooth things back over with her acting the way she was. Instead, he had been working to make things right between them again. She thought it was rather easier when she was too tired to get out of bed and he decided to sit with her when she was awake. He simply taken advantage of her being trapped in bed to start fixing what he had broken. She didn't know what to think about that anymore than she did him taking care of her. And Gold, the poor man, seemed as baffled as to why he was doing this as she was.

Whatever his reasons, known or unknown, they had slowly returned back to normal. Once she realized he had been unsettled by her retreat, which surprised her more than his apology as he had been so direct about wanting her to stay away, she had tried to help him. As hurt as she had been she didn't try to punish him for it, partly because she wanted things to go back and partly because she was becoming more and more concerned about his behaviors, which seemed as healthy as her sleeping habits.

What she had originally thought was simply coldness was starting to form a noticeable pattern to her eye, although she was no expert when it came to people, being much better with the written word. He always got irritable when things shifted, when he realized they were getting closer, no matter what that meant. He had been wary of her when she moved in, suspicious when she wanted to sit with him while they had dinner, and standoffish when they had started to become friendly even though it was clear that was of interest to him. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised that he had lashed out at her when she suggested something more, whether he had taken it as an indication of deepening friendship or something more than that. It occurred to her that she scared him for some reason and she couldn't really be angry at him for getting scared.

In the end at had been something utterly domestic that set them back on track, no matter how silly that seemed. In the beginning of February, only a few days after she had really started to feel normal again, they had to band together to fix the house. She had been walking around downstairs sorting through the mail as she walked through the house, having finally convinced their postal worker to start delivering to them again, when she literally walked into trouble. Seeing nothing of interest in the pile of letters, and wondering how all these junk mail people kept finding them she went to toss them into the recycle bin. As she was walking over to it she stepped into a fairly large puddle, which immediately soaked her stockings as she had kicked her boots off by the front door when she came in. Leaping to the side at the sensation of freezing water she glanced around frantically and saw the floor was covered in a giant puddle, which she must have missed when she was reading. Looking around she saw the water was covering nearly the whole floor of the kitchen and tossed the mail on the table as she looked about frantically for the source of the leak.

When she heard dripping she went to it, bouncing around in the puddle as she tried to keep her stockings dry, which was impossible and making even more of a mess than there already was. Moving quickly she wrenched open the cabinet under the sink and was met with a blasting spray of water that drenched her entire front. Having no idea how to fix something like that she left the cabinet open and quickly grabbed an old dishtowel out of a drawer. Diving back into the problem she wrapped the towel around the pipe as best she could and then stumbled backward as she tried to keep herself somewhat dry. Grabbing some more towels she tossed them over the large puddle in an effort to absorb some of it, which was more a waste of time than anything else as she was going to have to get the entire kitchen dry, not just a small part of it. Realizing she couldn't fix this, or even stop it without some more information she went to her purse and pulled out her cell phone quickly.

Dialing the shop she waited and he finally picked up on the fifth ring. "Gold's Antiques." He said distractedly.

"Where's the water line?"

"Belle?" He asked.

"Is it in the basement?" She continued, thinking that was a good guess.

"Yes."

"Okay." She said. "I'll go find it then. Thank you." She hung up right after thanking him and headed that way at a quick clip. She was walking down the stairs when her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket she saw it was Russell and answered. "Hello?"

"Why do you need to know where the water line is?" He asked with false patience.

"Because there's a leak in the kitchen."

"Leave it alone, dearie. I'll fix it when I get home." He told her, clearly underestimating what she was dealing with.

"By the time you get home the house will have floated away." She informed him.

"What?" He demanded.

"The kitchen sink is clearly in the throws of a violent death." She told him as she looked around once she was in the basement, having found the light switch on the way down. She was beyond amused when she saw the hoard she had descended into. Why she hadn't bothered to come down here in all these months she didn't know, but seeing it she wished she had. It would be an adventure of an afternoon to find out what was down here. "Do you have a second shop under the house I was unaware of? Who needs all these things?"

He let out a growl of annoyance, although she was sure it was directed at the leak as opposed to her commentary. "The line is in the back south corner."

"Okay." She said, headed that way. "I'll see you when you get home."

"I'm almost done here. I should be back in half an hour."

"I'll anchor the house so it doesn't drift away on you." She assured him before hanging up again. A few minutes later she found what she was looking for and successfully turned the water in the house off. Humming in satisfaction she turned to go back out, looking at the items down here curiously as she went. Needless to say when something scampered over her foot and distracted her from her exploration she completely flipped out. Shrieking in fright she leapt away, spotting the bald tail of a fairly sizable rat. Not being overly fond of rats, let alone when they were running over her feet in dark and very full basements while she was alone in the house, she screamed again and raced for the door. Sprinting up the stairs she slammed the door shut and ripped her phone out of her pocket. This time he picked up on the second ring.

"Gol-"

"Bring rat traps!" She shrieked into the receiver.

"Are you sure it wasn't a mouse-"

"Rat traps!" She demanded loudly, overriding him at once. She would not be met with condescension at such a moment, not when she could have just been eaten by god knows how many vermin that were lurking very rudely in her home. "And peanut butter!"

There was a brief pause as he picked a route to take when dealing with her at this moment in time. He picked soothing and she appreciated that considering her heart was still in her throat after the rat attack. "All right, dearie."

"Good." She said breathlessly before hanging up again. When he got home about an hour later she had things under control. She had mopped everything up and then dried it with several towels she dragged out from the downstairs basement. She had then wedged a pot under the pipes beneath the sink to catch any stray water that managed to escape, and changed into dry clothes. She also had a chair wedged under the doorknob of the basement in an attempt to contain the vermin, because now that she knew they were there she needed to keep them contained. When he saw the chair his lip curled up into a smirk of amusement as she stood against the kitchen counter sipping at a bottle of water. "Shut up."

He snorted and set the bag he had down on the counter. Pulling out half a dozen traps and the peanut butter, which was much better at luring rats than cheese, he removed the chair and went downstairs. She heard him moving about quietly for several minutes and then there was a loud snapping sound followed by a second. She glanced up from her drink and was about to call to him before she heard him walking around again. Shaking her head she waited for him to come back up and when he did he was holding a rat with his handkerchief by the tail. The animal's head was smashed in and she could only assume he had killed it with his cane.

"Apologies, dearie." He said as he went toward the trashcan and she bolted out of the way. "I can see you weren't exaggerating." Opening the cabinet the trash was hidden in he dropped the rat in it. "If more than one of these ends up in one of the traps I'm calling an exterminator."

"I hate rats." She told him as she hid behind the island. He turned on the water and began to wash his hands as she spoke.

"Really? Because you were so calm on the phone." She rolled her eyes and he smiled a little before going to look at the sink. It was clear where the water had been. "Any other calamities in here I should know about? Did you set one of the rooms on fire as well?"

"I had nothing to do with any of this!" She said with mock outrage.

He hummed in disbelief before pulling his phone out. He began to dial and she edged toward the trash, wanting the dead animal out, but utterly freaked out by getting close to it. When he saw her flinching around it he shooed her away as the phone rang. "I'll take care of it. Go on."

Relieved, she retreated and sat on a stool. As she did Gold began talking to Leroy about coming over to check the pipes. As he did she considered what would be best for takeout from Granny's as it would be difficult to cook or clean up without water. After a few minutes Gold hung up the phone and set it on the counter. "He'll be over in about an hour." She had thought that was fast, but she supposed Leroy could use the extra money and had simply shrugged. She was about to ask him what he wanted to eat, when they both heard the distinct, if distant, sound of a trap snapping shut. He twitched and she let out a sound of disgust as she realized that another rat had been killed. It may mean it was dead, but for it to have come out so soon after Russell had been down there most likely meant there were many more.

"Well, this has been lovely." She said after a moment. "I'll be packing my things and moving now."

He sent her a look. "I think not."

"Then you go turn the water back on so we can flood them out. I understand they often flee sinking ships."

"You're just being ridiculously dramatic now."

"I walked in to find your house sinking and the basement filled with thousands of rodents, and I'm overreacting?"

"Thousands?" He said dryly. "Is that the estimate you're going to stick with?"

No sooner did he ask then there was another snap and he sighed deeply as she squealed and began to jump around unhappily. "Russell!" She whined horribly.

"I'll call an exterminator tomorrow." He told her.

"You expect me to sleep in here with them?"

"I'm sure you'll be safe on the second story."

"The same way you were sure they're weren't rats in here?"

"I never once said that."

She took that and ran with it. "So you just let me move in thinking there were rats?"

He watched her in a way that told her he would not be drawn into this. "Are you done?" She pouted at him and all at once things were right again, just like that, although she had no idea how she could tell. He eyed her protruding lip. "Stop that."

"But, Russell-"

"No." He said at once. "No more of that. I can't do anything about it until tomorrow." Knowing he wasn't really bothered by her she kept harassing him about it until her irrational anxiety dissipated and he started to laugh despite himself, at which point Leroy was over and trying to fix the pipe and banged his head on the underside of the cabinet at the sound it surprised him so much. The handy man had looked at her as if she had magic to make Gold laugh and she had simply smiled at him as she followed Russell out of the room, harassing him good-naturedly so he would forget to try to bully Leroy into going faster. That at least worked and a few hours later they had water again. By the end of the week the rats had been taken care of as well and things settled down nicely.

As she thanked the exterminator for that in her head Gold came back in the room, done with his phone call. He sat in a chair beside her and she smiled at him as she marked her place and set the book she was reading aside. She wasn't really reading it anyway so there was no reason to pretend that she was. "Was that him?"

"Yes." He said with happiness tempered by loss. "It was." When she smiled at him he sat down in a chair nearby, an obvious invitation for more conversation. With his silent permission for queries she started up an easy conversation, tossing out questions as they went, learning more about this mysterious son she had known nothing about. The amount of information he shared with her all at once after months of trickles of truth was truly astounding.

A few hours later and it was far later than she thought, they had lost track of time as they talked, and the grandfather clock in the hall began to chime. Still, she didn't move since she was enjoying his company, and she knew from experience she could make it a day at work without sleep. Eventually though, he caught her yawning behind her hand even though she tried to hide it and ended the evening. "It's late, dearie, and you're about to pass out on that couch." He stood up and offered her his hand. "I'm not about to keep you up all night."

She allowed him to help her up and she stood in front of him, watching him with interest. He looked… content, and really happy. "Did you have a nice birthday?"

"Yes, I did." He said, his eyes warm as he watched her.

Pleased that she had been part of that happening she once again let herself be impulsive despite the way he had reacted to her for that before Christmas. Smiling at him she went up on her toes and kissed his cheek, resting her hand on his shoulder briefly. "I'm glad. You deserved to have a good day. Goodnight, Russell."

"Goodnight, Belle." He said quietly as she moved away, brushing her body lightly against his as she passed him, although she hadn't planned to do that until it happened.

She sent him a smile over her shoulder as she went upstairs and he watched her go with an odd expression on his face, his eyes locked on her the whole while he could see her. Deciding she had imagined that even though there was no way she could have she went to her room and changed clothes before slipping into her bed. Despite knowing better she lay there in the dark thinking about the last few hours, about how nice dinner had been, and how much he had just let her in. As she lay there she heard him come up the stairs quietly, the slow tap of his cane now familiar and reassuring. The sound faded briefly and then she saw the light come on in his room from under the door that separated them. After several minutes it turned off and she lay there staring at the door, wondering how a piece of wood could feel like a such a huge barrier, and why she couldn't manage to work up the nerve to do the brave thing and simply walk through it.

Author Note: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry about the typos in the last chapter, I edit my own stuff and sometime I miss things. I appreciate you letting me know though.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

She was restless as she sat in Archie's office. She kept shifting and re-crossing her legs as her mind raced around in unhappy, anxious circles. "Belle?" She looked over at him, pulled out of her thoughts. He was watching her closely and she suspected he was not working overly hard for his money with her today. It was clear something was wrong, and it hardly helped that she had called him up out of the blue to see if he had any time to see her today. He had been surprised, she could tell even over the phone, and agreed to see her on her lunch break. She wasn't surprised that he was displaying visible curiosity when she showed up as she had been so eager to get out of his office the other two times she had seen him so many months ago now. She was sure he had never thought to see her in his office again, and yet here she was, highly agitated and not talking despite her insistence on meeting him as soon as possible. He prompted her when it became clear she wasn't going to start. "What is it that's bothering you?"

She began to twist her wedding ring furiously. She had to talk to someone about this or she was going to either explode or do something impulsive and no doubt idiotic no matter what she had promised Gold. The thing was she didn't know who it was she should talk to. Her first instinct was to simply stay quiet about it as was her normal reaction, but that wasn't making her feel better and she was back to her insomnia with a vengeance the last few days despite having had a nearly perfect sleeping pattern for months now. Thinking he must have been right about this being more than a bad habit she twisted the ring again. She needed to talk about this but she really did not want to go to jail, which took Ruby right out of her options list. It also took Granny out, because she knew at some point she would let it slip to her granddaughter. "Did you mean what you said the first time we met?"

He cocked his head. "What part?"

"The part about confidentiality?" He frowned and she went on. "You can't break that can you? No matter what I say?"

"No, I can't." He agreed. "Belle, what's going on?"

"I-" She licked her lips nervously and he sat calmly holding his pen. That freaked her out too, that this might go into writing, which could be used as evidence to get her in serious trouble. "Could you not write this down?" He frowned and set both the pen and the paper down on the table between them and waited. Finally she broke. "I did something insanely stupid."

"Why do you say that?" He asked calmly.

"Because it was stupid… and illegal."

He seemed surprised and she understood why. She had never gotten in trouble in her life. "What did you do?"

She shifted again. "Do- do you remember when I told you my father was in debt because of the loan?"

"Yes. You said you gave the shop back to your husband."

"I didn't, I mean I did… that's not exactly what happened." He waited. She had to tell someone and took the final plunge. "I told you I was the co-signer on it. It was too much for me to ever pay back to him. Hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of what the shop and the truck were worth. Even if I gave him everything I got for the house on top of those things… It was too much for me." She took a deep breath. "I went to talk to Gold about it a few days after the funeral because I had to take care of it and I had no idea what to do. He agreed to take the shop and forgive the debt if I would marry him so he wouldn't get deported. I think before that day I've only talked to him about three times. We were never seeing each other in some sort of secret affair the way everyone thinks. I started those rumors myself so people would believe it, and it spread the way I knew it would."

Silence. That was all she got from the man for nearly a full minute. She looked down at her lap and twisted the ring unhappily. "I… see."

There was no real way to justify this. There was no way to defend it short of sheer desperation. And now that she started talking it was like she couldn't stop. Archie hadn't reacted at all the way she expected, and feeling as if she had told him what could get her in trouble she just went ahead and told him the rest so she could get it off her chest. "I didn't know what else to do. I would have defaulted on everything. I never would have bounced back from that, ever. It was too much. He said it would only be for about a year and a half. All I had to do was pretend it was real." Her stomach was in knots. "I have my own room at the house. All we do is live there together so it looks right."

Archie turned that over for a moment before speaking. "Has he done anything you didn't want him to do to you? Forced you into something?"

"No, he would never do anything like that." She was appalled he would even suggest something like that. Gold was many things, but a sexual predator he was not. If anything he was a gentle man when it came to her, and she suspected anyone he had a real emotional relationship with.

"Are you in trouble over this?" She shook her head in denial. "Then why are you this upset?"

"Because yesterday I went to the bank to deposit my check and they told me all the money that I owed him was in my account."

Archie frowned in confusion. "What?"

"All of it." She said anxiously. "I know how much it was supposed to be because I worked it out before I went to talk to him about it. It's all there down to the last thirty-six cents. I don't know what's going on."

"Did you ask?"

"Of course not." She said. "I don't know what he would do if I brought it up. You know how he is with deals, everyone knows. I promised to keep my end as a way to pay the money back, but now I have the money too and I haven't done anything to get it. It's not what we agreed on."

Archie seemed stumped as well, but was more curious about her reaction to it. "Why are you afraid to ask him about it?"

"Because… because…" She twisted the ring furiously.

"Because why?" He asked.

She looked away from him. "Because I don't know why he would give that to me unless he wanted me to leave."

"But you never wanted to marry him to begin with." Archie pointed out. "Why would that bother you?"

She looked up at him helplessly and he understood. "Ah." He said with quiet understanding.

"I don't know what's the matter with me." She told him, strained. "I never… I didn't want to… I didn't mean to…"

He finished for her. "Fall in love with your husband?"

She let out a strained laugh. "It sounds even more messed up when you say it."

"We can't help how we feel." He told her gently.

She firmly disagreed. "I can. I can help it."

"You can pretend better than a lot of people, but no, you can't."

She let out something close to a whine. "I don't know what to do." Which was really the whole reason she was here. She needed help with this.

"Have you considered telling him?" The doctor asked.

"No." She said sharply.

"Why?"

She sent him a look that clearly stated she thought he was crazy. "Because he's marginally fond of my company. That's as far as it goes. I still have almost eight months of this to go, assuming he isn't about to send me on my way when I get home tonight."

Archie went quiet again before speaking. "I think for him a show of marginal fondness may be a sign of something much deeper."

She had another theory, which may or may not be fueled by her panic more than what experience was telling her. "That, or it's the only way he can deal with me for an extended period of time."

"You're devaluing yourself, Belle."

"I'm being realistic." She snapped.

"You're realism seems to be what got you in this mess to begin with." He pointed out. "You don't seem to be enjoying what it brought." She resented him for saying that, but resented herself more because it was true. "Do you want to stay with him?" He asked after several seconds.

"I don't see how that matters." She said as she rubbed at her forehead, she felt a headache starting. "I'll be leaving soon regardless."

"But do you want to stay with him?" He insisted.

"Yes." She admitted quietly.

"Then you need to talk to him about it. He can't read your mind."

She wasn't feeling any better. "He doesn't want me."

"You haven't talked to him about this. How could you know that?" She disliked that Archie was being as logical as she normally was when her head was working right. She disliked that she couldn't find that place on this matter anymore. "Has he said that?"

"When we agreed to it he did."

"You mean when you went to talk to him about the loan the first time?" She nodded. "And that was what? Almost a year ago?"

"Eleven months." She said.

"Do you think it possible that you're not the only one that's had a change of heart in that amount of time?"

"He can't be interested."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm me and he's who he is." She told him honestly. "I'm a high school graduate with a low paying government job. He's got a law degree and owns most of Storybrooke. What do we have in common? What could I possibly offer him that any other woman couldn't?"

"I think that's a question only he can answer, Belle." Hopper pointed out. "And he's not going to be able to answer it unless you talk to him." She slumped in defeat, unsure of what else to say. Archie left her alone for a minute as she processed this. When he felt she had enough time he spoke again. "What's the worst thing that could happen? Realistically."

"He tells me to leave." She answered. Her first impulse had to say she would go to jail, but that wasn't going to happen. She knew, deep down, that even if she left his house right at this moment and demanded the deal break early he would make no attempt to get her in trouble. How she knew that she wasn't sure, but it was true all the same.

"And if he tells you to leave what will you do?" He asked.

"I hadn't thought about it." She told him, having barely been able to get her head around the fact that she'd fallen in love with him. The feelings were so overwhelming it was hard to think straight, and the whole thing had blindsided her to begin with.

"I think it might be a good idea to think about it." He said. "I think if you have a plan you won't let yourself get so upset."

Slowly, she nodded in agreement. "You're right."

"And that doesn't mean that's going to happen." He reasoned. Having run out of things to say she just nodded and looked toward the window. Once again he let her sit for a minute or so before speaking. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little." She admitted. "I don't like lying and keeping secrets. I'm glad I could finally tell someone what's been going on."

"I can imagine." He said. "It's good you came to see me. It's not healthy to hold things like this in all the time."

"I used to talk to my father." She told him honestly.

"I understand." He told her. "I'm sure this has been a hard year for you, harder than anyone knew." He leaned forward a little. "Why don't we meet again next week? I think you'll feel more like yourself if we make this a regular part of your life for a little while. How would you feel about that?"

"I think that's probably a good idea." She admitted, as hard as it was for her to accept help. "When?"

Reaching over he grabbed his planner and they made another appointment. Before she left her urged her to think about her worst case scenario plan and promised they could talk about it next week when she came to see him. Feeling a little better despite the topic she went back to work and then home, but she was still jumpy and upset when she got there. She was thankful Gold was still at work because she needed to get herself together. She walked around the house for a few minutes before finding something to occupy herself.

Deciding she could stand the organization of his bookcase no longer, as there was no organization of any kind that she could comprehend, she was busily getting the blasted thing in order. She was sure he would have a fit when he noticed, since he seemed capable of finding anything in this low level hoard he had at any given moment, but the fact that the books were so grossly miss-alphabetized could no longer be ignored. She was a librarian; she couldn't live like this as it was appalling to her senses. Pulling all the books off the shelf she began to line them up properly by the author's last name and slowly managed to get herself back together as she did something familiar and soothing. By the time she was on the last shelf an hour and a half later she was much more relaxed and focused. She certainly felt as if she could now handle seeing him and acting like a normal person in front of him, which had been her main goal when she began destroying his organizational system to replace it with her own.

As she finished placing the last of the books in its new place there was a hesitant sort of knock on the door. Glancing around, and wondering who in their right mind would come here voluntarily, because Gold had even scared all the salesmen away, which honestly she was thankful for, she went toward the front door. She spotted a young teenaged boy through the colored glass and opened the door curiously, hoping he was a boy scout selling popcorn as she very much liked popcorn. Sadly, her hopes were quickly dashed as he wasn't wearing a uniform, but she was still curious over who he might be as she had never seen him before, and she knew every child in Storybrooke. He was a handsome boy, with thick, dark curls and deep chocolate eyes. He had perfect skin, which was unusual for someone his age, and a strange and compelling bearing about him. She guessed he was about fourteen and she had never met anyone so young present themselves this way. He didn't seem to know that he was doing it either. He was dressed in well-made clothes, but they certainly weren't meant for late March in this area. There was still snow on the ground outside and he was in a thin looking blue sweater and khaki slacks. The poor boy looked half frozen without even a scarf, let alone a coat and mittens. She was immediately concerned when she saw he was shivering and wondered if he was lost.

"Hello." She said kindly, not wanting to scare him off. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Russell Gold." He answered, surprising her with a lilting Scottish accent as he looked at her with confusion, then over to the side of the door where the numbers for the address of the house were. "… I must have the wrong address. Do you know if he lives near here?"

She had a sudden, strong inkling as to who this teen was, but how he had gotten here was a mystery. She was very sure he should be in Scotland. "You have the right house. He's still at work. Would you like to wait?" She asked as she moved back to give him room to come inside. It was far too cold for him to be out there any longer.

"Yes, thank you." He answered politely and stepped inside, much to her relief. She wasn't sure what she would have done if he had refused short of waiting with him out on the porch until Gold got home.

As soon as he was inside she shut the door on the cold and tried to set him at ease as he warmed up. He was looking around more than a little warily and she didn't want him thinking he wasn't safe in his father's house. She held her hand out to him at once. "I'm Belle."

He took her hand, suddenly shy and clearly confused by who she was. It was clear Gold hadn't mentioned her, and frankly she couldn't blame him. What was the point of telling his son he was married when he was set to be divorced in a few more months? He hadn't seen his son in years so there was no point in bringing it up when he had no idea he was going to see him again before she was gone. It seemed a waste of time when they only spoke on the phone a few times a year. She was sure Russell was much more interested in what his son was doing than telling him about her. "I'm Bae."

"It's very nice to meet you Bae." She said with a smile, which had him blushing. "Might your last name be Gold?"

"Yes, mam." He said politely, relaxing when it was clear she knew who he was.

"Hmmm." She said teasingly as she let his hand go. "I rather thought it must be. You have your father's eyes."

"I do?" He asked with interest.

Her eyes twinkled. "You do. And his nose as well." She assured him. "But he didn't tell me you were coming to see him."

He looked guilty all at once, although he tried to hide it. She thought he either didn't inherit his ability to lie from his father, or he didn't bother to practice at it much as Russell did. Of course, his father had all but turned deceit into an art form, so perhaps it was better Bae was awful at it. It could bode well for his social life. "I wanted to surprise him."

She sensed far more to this story, but didn't push him. She knew very well if Russell had any idea his son was coming she would know about it. There had been too much caring in him when he told her about his son a few weeks ago for her to believe he wouldn't be over the moon to have him here. Instead she focused on more immediate matters. It was well past lunch, close to dinner, and she had no idea how long he had been wondering around. "Did your surprise take you straight here or did you manage anything to eat on the way here?"

"I came straight here." He told her.

She was becoming more worried by the moment but tried not to show it. Not only was he not dressed at all properly for the season he didn't have a bag with him either, not even a backpack that might hold a change of clothes. She wondered how he had gotten here as he was clearly too young to drive and the nearest airport was at least seventy miles away. She supposed he could have come in on the bus, but she was pretty sure the last one of the day, as it was the only one of the day, had arrived at least three hours ago. She was concerned about how long he had been roving around outside in the cold since it was well past five now. "I think we better remedy that. What do you like to eat?"

That threw him. "Um? I'm not picky." That must be a family trait. At least it made feeding him easier.

"How about a chicken sandwich?" She suggested, thinking that was generic enough to be tempting to nearly anyone. He nodded and she led him back through the house to the kitchen. He was looking around quietly as she got the food together quickly, making him a large sandwich as she asked him what he liked on it. He was entirely polite, although she could tell he was trying to work out just who she was and why she was here. But she wasn't about to add worry to whatever he was already concerned about by springing on him that his father had remarried and he had a stepmother. Within three minutes she had him sitting at the island with the sandwich, a sliced apple, and a bag of chips as she looked him over. Going to get him a drink, and hoping he wouldn't mind bottled water, she grabbed one for each of them out of the fridge. "Do you have a bag with you?" She asked, clearly knowing the answer, but searching for more information.

"No." He said and she raised an eyebrow in question.

"How about a coat?" He shook his head and she set the bottle down beside him as she watched him with obvious concern. He tried to fake it for a few moments as she did and finally she broke the silence. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes." He said at once, too fast, and she sent him a look that told him she wasn't fooled. He let his eyes wander over the room again. "I just need to see him. When will he be back?"

She agreed that he did indeed need to see his father as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Let me get him." She texted Gold, although he hated when she did it, telling her it was an annoying way to communicate. She thought he disliked being unable to read a person's voice and body language, which was how he got most of his information. Had he been at the shop she would have called there, but she knew well enough he had gone down to the docks to 'straighten something out', which meant he was no doubt squabbling with someone. That, in turn, meant he wouldn't answer his phone if it rang, but he might look at the screen if he had a moment. Sure enough, a few seconds later her phone rang. She picked it up, smiling at Bae when he glanced up from his food and stepped out into the living room. She had no idea what his reaction to this would be and if it were negative didn't want his son to hear it.

"Hello?"

"What have I said about texting?" He asked in annoyance, and she heard the wind blowing in the background along with muffled cry of gulls. She guessed he had made it to the docks. "Why do I need to come back home?"

"You have a visitor here." She replied calmly. "He's rather eager to see you, although I think I have him entertained with lunch for the moment."

"What visitor?" He asked distractedly, before moving the phone away and speaking to someone else. "I think I was clear about our rental agreement. Either you have the rent or you don't. Which is it?" There was a reply and he started to answer when she broke in. This was clearly more important than getting the rent from someone, no matter how obsessed he was with the docks right now.

"Russell, you need to leave that poor person alone and come back to the house now."

Gold was impatient with her interruption. "Dearie, I am busy, tell whoever it is to wait. If they can't send them on their way-"

"Your son is here." She told him.

That stopped him dead in his tracks. There was a significant, confused pause. "What?"

"Your son is here, sitting in the kitchen." She repeated, moving closer to the front door so she wouldn't be overheard by the boy. There was no need to worry him more than she guessed he already was. "And he doesn't have a coat or a bag. He's also eating like he's never seen food before. He's not hurt but I think something is wrong."

"I'll be there in five minutes." He said hurriedly before hanging up.

Shaking her head she went back to the kitchen to find nothing left of the sandwich save a few crumbs, an empty chip bag, and only one slice of apple. Without missing a beat she went to the fridge and began making him a second sandwich. He was about to protest the effort when she smiled at him and set it quickly in front of him. "Oh go on. I remember being a teenager. I was never full either."

"Thank you."

"No worries." She answered as she sat down across from him and opened her own water. "Your dad's on his way back."

He watched her curiously as he took another bite. When he swallowed he asked her a question. "Are you from Australia?"

"Right you are, mate." She said, letting her accent get truly thick. He smiled at her for that, relaxing a little more and she smiled back. She was really trying to set him at ease with her, and thought it might be working. "I hale from Brisbane."

"How did you end up here?"

"That's a bit of a story." She said after she took a sip of her water. "I'll tell you some other time, yah?"

"I'd like that." He answered. "How do you know my dad?"

"We're friends." She told him, which was the god's honest truth. "I work at the library. He was one of the council members that hired me." She smiled. "That's how we met a few years ago."

"Oh." He said, satisfied with that answer. "I like to read. What's your favorite book?"

She hummed as she thought about that seriously. "What a hard question to ask a librarian." He smiled a little at that as he ate. "I don't know if it's my favorite, but I really like _The Hobbit_."

He smiled a little. "I like that one too. Have you read _The Lord of the Rings_?"

"Have I read _Lord of the Rings_?" She asked with mock outrage. "How could you even ask that?"

He laughed at that, a soft, true sound and she smiled at him again. "Thank you for the sandwich."

"It was no trouble." She assured him. "Is that sandwich enough? There's plenty more food."

"This is enough." He told her after he swallowed, nearly done with the second sandwich in the space of only a few minutes.

"I promise to make something far more interesting than sandwiches for dinner." She told him with a smile. "What kinds of things do you like to eat specifically? I was going to make spaghetti tonight, but if you don't like it I can cook something else."

He was now trying to work out why she would be here for dinner too, but started to answer. "I like it-" right then they both heard the front door open and close in a rush. They both looked over and she saw Gold hurrying in. It was the first time she had ever seen him look openly worried or frazzled.

His eyes locked on his son at once. "Bae, what are you doing here? What happened?"

"I just wanted to visit you." He said at once.

Gold relaxed ever so slightly, seeing the boy was in one piece, and he moved forward quickly. Bae got up and hugged him at once, which Gold returned, but caused even more concern to flood his face when the teen held onto him tightly. He looked at her sharply and she made a motion of ignorance as he moved his hand to the back of his son's head comfortingly. From what he told her, which wasn't much really, Bae was extremely independent. The clinging seemed to be out of character from what Russell told her about him, but it had been a long time since they had seen one another. Gold hugged him tighter for a moment, rubbing his hand over his son's back reassuringly, before holding him away a bit. "Bae, what's going on? What are you really doing here?"

"Can I stay here?" He asked at once.

"Stay?"

"Please, papa?" Bae asked, holding real anxiety back, although it was seeping through all the same. "I want to stay with you."

Gold rubbed his back again to calm him and it was like she was seeing a whole different person, the person that had been so nice to her when she was sick. He was making no effort to hide that he cared right now. "Bae, you need to tell me what's going on."

Behind the teen's back she mouthed to him frantically. "Tell him he can stay!" Gold's eyes flickered in surprise at her silent insistence. She didn't know why he was startled. The teen was clearly upset over something and if whatever it was brought him all the way here she didn't think it would be smart to send him away. Doing something this extreme and then returning him to whatever had upset him so much would only send him running again.

"Tell me what's going on." Gold insisted, not committing to it. She wondered why and then realized if it were an option the boy would already be here. He had told her Bae's mother had custody of him.

"Killian is horrible!" He burst out.

Gold's whole expression darkened in a flash and she wondered who that was. "What?"

Bae let him go and stepped back, his expression fully rebellious. "I'm not living with him anymore even if you send me back-"

"I never said I was sending you back." Gold told him, grabbing one of Bae's shoulders and squeezing it. "Calm down." The boy took a breath and nodded. "Now, one thing at a time. Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't hurt me." The murderous glint in Gold's eyes vanished, or at least dimmed marginally. "He's just the biggest arse-"

"Language." Gold said at once and Bae blew out a breath.

"Sorry, papa." Gold simply raised an eyebrow and Bae continued. "And I _hate_ boarding school."

Utter confusion filled his face. "Boarding school? What do you mean boarding school?"

"Mom sent me last term. Edinburg."

The anger was back in an instant. "She sent you without telling me? You weren't at home?"

"No." Bae confirmed. "And I thought you knew so I didn't say anything when we talked, but then Mom wrote and told me you wanted me there, and I knew you didn't really after you always went on about how much you hated it when you went, so I decided to leave."

She couldn't help but cut in. "You left? Does anyone know you're here?"

Gold glanced up at her then back at his son. "No." Bae admitted reluctantly.

"You left from Edinberg without telling anyone?" Russell asked. "How did you get here?"

"A plane, and a few taxis, and then the bus." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a passport, a few twenties, a used boarding pass, and a crumpled envelope. She just caught sight of the address of the house from where she was and assumed it must have been from a letter Gold had sent to him. That was how he had found his way here.

"You flew here by yourself?" Gold nearly shouted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"You do it all the time." Bae said.

"I'm not thirteen!" Gold snapped angrily. "That was incredibly stupid, Bae!"

"But it was awful-"

"This was not the way to handle it!" Gold was really yelling now, and she knew it was only because he was nearly scared out of his mind. "Why didn't you just call me?"

She cut in, scrambling around the island toward them. "Yelling won't help." She said calmly, trying to sooth his nerves. Gold turned his rage on her in an instant but she wasn't moved by his glare. "You need to call his mother." She told him, ignoring whatever bad blood was between them for the moment. There was Bae to consider, as well as a mother with no idea where her son was. "She's probably out of her head with worry."

Gold took a calming breath, really trying to gain hold of his temper, which was set off from the fear. "Yes, we do."

"She won't have noticed." Bae told him.

Gold took him by the shoulder and led him gently toward his office. She trailed after them, figuring she was already involved so she might as well keep up to speed. "I rather think she will have."

"No, really, she hasn't." He insisted. "She's gone off to Spain, or Portugal, or something. She hasn't answered the phone in weeks."

She saw Gold clench his jaw at that, but refrained from saying anything negative about his son's mother in front of him. "We're calling her anyway." Gold said after a moment. "Not to mention your school and most likely the police."

"The police?" Bae asked.

"I have no doubt the school has filed a missing person report. How long ago did you leave?"

"I don't know, the time keeps changing."

"Guess." His father insisted as they got to his office.

"Maybe two days ago." Bae told him. Gold said nothing and picked up the phone. He dialed a number from memory and she stood leaning into the doorframe as Bae watched without much interest. Gold was silent, his eyes on his son as the phone rang for well over three minutes. When it became more than apparent there would be no answer he hung up and Bae watched him. "I told you." He said. "She never answers."

Once again Gold made no comment and started making a rapid series of calls all over Scotland. After speaking to the head of Bae's school, the police, and his lawyer because apparently he had one to represent him on top of having his own law degree, he looked exhausted, but not unhappy. She had noticed about halfway through his call with the police department that some idea had struck pleasantly in his head. She could only assume he had thought of something sneaky, but didn't ask about it. She was actually fairly surprised with how short the call with his lawyer was until the end when he told whoever was on the other line that he would call them again in the morning. He must not want to concern Bae with it and when he hung up the phone she looked at him. Gold was completely focused on his son and she understood.

Without a word she withdrew to let them catch up and went to go make dinner. His son may have just eaten two sandwiches but if she recalled her adolescence correctly between the ages of twelve and eighteen one was never actually full, simply less hungry after eating. As she began to get things out, adjusting how much she was making with barely a thought she supposed this was not the ideal time to bring up her bank account. That could no doubt wait at least a few days. Clearly Gold now had more important things to think about than their deal, and she now had a perfect excuse to neglect mentioning it.

Author Note: Sorry this took a couple of days. I had a huge paper to write for school and another one to take care of. I may not post again until Wednesday as the end of the semester is madness. I hope you guys liked this one!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Bae finally passed out at about midnight, the jet lag hitting him all at once and as hard as a bus. Belle, bless her, had already made up one of the spare rooms for him while he had been with his son downstairs, trying to get him acclimated and comfortable with the house. He had heard her moving about upstairs after dinner, barely registering the noise at the time. But when Bae began to yawn and slump in exhaustion she had cut in smoothly, appearing out of nowhere, and telling him there was a room all set up for him. He had thanked her with his eyes, grateful for her thoughtfulness, and taken Bae upstairs to be sure he was settled. When he found Belle had picked one of the rooms with a view of the front of the house, across the hall from hers, he was pleased she had picked the same one he would have.

It was bigger than the other spare room beside it, and while there was too much furniture shoved into it there was still more space to move around. Besides, the extra dresser and desk could easily be moved in the morning. When he turned the light on for Bae he saw that Belle had put clean sheets on the bed along with the thick yellow comforter he had placed on her bed nearly a year ago now. She had also thrown one of his t-shirts on the bed for Bae to sleep in and could only assume she had grabbed it out of a clean stack he left in the laundry room and placed it up here. He saw she had been thoughtful enough to put a spare toothbrush on top of the shirt for him as well so he wouldn't have to look for one.

His son had looked about with muted interest before his exhaustion got the best of him. He showed Bae where the bathroom was and once he was sure he was settled left him to sleep. He had then gone to his office for nearly an hour to be sure everything he needed was in order and at hand for when this whole situation exploded. It was only a matter of time, a day at the most, and he wanted to be ready. Finally, he knew he could do nothing else no matter how meticulously he was stacking things and left the room, feeling high strung and agitated. There was nothing to do now but wait, and he didn't like that unless he had planned to be waiting. Considering all of this had jumped at him he had no set, well thought out plan. Generally when he was in the midst of acquiring something he had plenty of time to plan and plot. He didn't have that luxury, and was hoping his slap dash idea would work.

Trying to calm himself down he stood next to the kitchen counter sipping at a cup of tea. Really, he needed something stronger than the steeped leaves, but with who knew what legal nonsense about to leap at him at any given moment he didn't dare get anything else. He felt as if his thoughts were running ahead of him, something he wasn't fond of, but was so distracted by the flood of emotions he didn't have the focus to try to rein them in so he could organize them. While he was trying to gain control in some aspect Belle came into the kitchen with the clear intent of finding him. She was still fully dressed and he knew she had been biding her time to talk to him privately.

He set his tea to the side. "Tea, dearie?"

"No, thank you." She said, and he pulled his hand back from the kettle when she turned the drink down. "Is he asleep?"

"Yes." He said, sure he was now as Bae had been tromping around upstairs as if he weighed as much as an elephant instead of a slim teenager. There was no doubt the house had a new occupant.

Belle nodded and then surprised him by being completely practical. He wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting, but it wasn't this. "He needs clothes and a coat." She told him. "And new bedding. What I put on the bed looks nearly as old as he is." He nodded in agreement, having not even gotten this far himself yet. "He's also going to need toiletries and shoes. Those one's he has aren't going to be warm enough with snow still on the ground and it's not going to get warm for another few weeks."

"I'll take care of all that tomorrow once he's up." He told her, feeling overwhelmed. Once this had been normal for him. He had never had to think about taking care of his son, he simply did it. The whole thing had been natural and ordinary. Now it felt awkward and disjointed after years of separation and lack of parental responsibility or thought for another person. His anxiety over this, over what could have happened to his son, was close to bowling him over as well, which was hardly helping his state of mind.

Belle must have seen it no matter how much he was trying to keep his face clear. "Hey." She moved to him quickly and caught his hand as she stood in front of him. She was speaking softly, no doubt wanting to sooth him. "What's wrong?"

"Anything…" He caught himself before his voice broke. "Anything could have happened to him. God knows what could have with him coming here the way he did."

Her face was filled with concern for him. Reaching up she set her hand on his cheek. "Nothing happened to him." She told him, emphasizing the idea even though he already knew. "He's safe." The girl was all reassurance, and despite himself he was willing to be reassured right now, by her if no one else. "He's right upstairs. Nothing is going to happen to him here."

"I know." And logically he did. Unfortunately, logic had little to do with this.

Her other hand came up and she caressed his face gently. He found himself leaning into her touch and she whispered to him kindly. "Don't be scared." He let out a shuddering breath as she identified exactly what he was trying very hard to ignore. "Don't be scared, Russell. He's safe, and he's here, and he loves you. You don't need to be scared of any of that."

"She'll take him back, Mila will." He told her raggedly. "I can't go through that again. I can't loose him again. I went half mad from it the first time."

"You're not going to let her." She told him with firm conviction. He had no idea where that came from or why it had gotten into her head to believe in him. "I saw your face when you were on the phone with your lawyer. You're already scheming something aren't you?"

"I don't know if it will work." He told her with total honesty.

"It will." She promised. "Because you're going to fight for him. You're going to fight for him and you're smart enough to get anything you want." Her fingers ran back into his hair as they stood up against each other. It was taking all he had not to grab her and crush her against him, an impulse he had been fighting for some time now. That he was emotional enough to ignore his good sense was hardly helping. "I can't think of anything you could want more than your son. So don't be afraid. You'll loose focus. You can be afraid when it's all over with and you have the time for it."

He let out a small breath. "Easier said than done, dearie." No sooner had that left his mouth than she let her hands drop so she could drape her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. Something in his chest loosened at the feel of her against him and he wrapped his arms around her waist without thinking about it.

She tucked her head against his shoulder before speaking. "Then be scared right now and get it all out of the way." He let out a breath and allowed himself to hold onto her for a moment, ignoring that he was allowing her to see this weakness in him. He had tried hard to hide this, hide the cowardice he was sure he inherited from his father, but it was leaking though all the same. For the first time in as long as he could remember he wasn't even ashamed of letting someone see it. Belle, sweet thing that she was, didn't judge him for it. He wondered if she even saw it as the weakness that it was, or if she somehow changed it into something else in that mind of hers.

Turning his head slightly he let his face rest against her soft chestnut curls. She smelled like soap and rose petals. He wondered if it was her shampoo that smelled that way, or after years in a flower shop it had simple suffused into her skin. She rubbed his back in an effort to calm him down, to sooth him when no one else had in years. They stood like that for a minute and right before it could get awkward Belle spoke. "Someone's being sure to fill their hug quota today." The comment broke through a great deal of his anxiety and he chuckled. Belle lifted her head up and smiled at him, surprising him again by kissing his cheek affectionately. "Better?"

"Yes." He agreed, and he was. "But I have a feeling I'm going to be rather irritable for the next few weeks while this is settled."

"Same as always then?" She said seriously, although her eyes were twinkling teasingly.

"Very funny, dearie." He said as he let his arms slip reluctantly away from her, tickling her ribs slightly as he went in way of retribution for the comment.

She laughed as she drew a few inches away from him, letting go of him as she did. "He was happy to see you." She told him.

"I hope so."

"Russell, he ran away from school, left his native country, and traveled several thousand miles to get to you. I think it's safe to say he was happy to see you." That was true. A sense of real warmth filled him when she put it like that. He had been so fixated on not being part of his son's life so long he simply assumed Bae must be angry with him. But now that she said that, now that he was here, it occurred to him that it was possible Bae had missed him just as much as he had missed his son. No one had ever wanted to see him enough to do all that. "He loves you." She told him, no doubt trying to solidify the idea in his head. "So stop fretting and be happy about it."

"All right."

"Good." She said, satisfied. "And you should probably also mention to him that we're married since it appears he's going to be living here. He seems intelligent and may work it out on his own at any rate so you might as well save him the trouble. I have no doubt once he's rested he'll notice our wedding bands."

"Yes, that's probably a good idea." He agreed.

"I rather thought so." She told him. "And since we're talking about ideas I have another one."

"I'm listening." For once he found he didn't mind relinquishing some control. Belle was certainly handling this better than he could have asked for and was taking care of things to boot. He saw no reason to begin stifling her.

She smiled a little. "Why don't I go ahead and take Bae shopping to get what he needs tomorrow? That'll give you a few hours to get what you need to get done. I doubt either of us will be helpful with that, if anything we'll be in the way."

Actually, that would be very helpful. He did need to talk to his lawyer and start setting things up to ensure that Bae wasn't going anywhere. "I would appreciate that."

"Okay." She said, pleased she could be helpful. "I don't think we can get a whole wardrobe for him here, but at least enough for a week or so. We can order the rest online and have it delivered."

"All right." Belle watched him for a moment and he saw she looked a little nervous. "What's the matter?"

"He is smart, Russell. It's not hard to tell." He wasn't sure why she found this to be a problem. "He's going to notice."

"Notice what?"

She sent him a look. "How about that we're sleeping in separate bedrooms? Married people don't generally do that."

"Well-"

"And we don't really act the way a married couple does either. Not when we're here."

If he were totally honest with himself that was blatantly untrue. He treated Belle much the same as he had Mila when they got married, short of them sharing a bed. They got along well and he was actually allowing himself to become openly affectionate with her, something he had tried not to think too deeply about for fear of what that might mean. They certainly teased and flirted with one another, even if it wasn't as blatant as other couples. Of course, Belle was hardly a normal woman in that respect. He thought if he had gone about perusing her in a normal fashion she would have either fled or assumed he was up to something. For a woman that read books the way she did she certainly didn't trust the ideals of traditional romance. She seemed blatantly suspicious of it, as if it really was only to be found in those books she all but worshiped. He didn't understand the woman at all, but he supposed he had never understood the creatures to begin with so this was no great surprise.

It was also clear that they worked well together. They had found a balance in the last year or so. Belle was pleasant to live with and more than willing to compromise with him even if she had started slowly and meticulously rearranging his house on him, which really only bothered him when he went looking for something and couldn't find it. Once she told him where it was everything was fine and his irritation vanished. He had reasoned, when the reorganizing began, that she lived here too and it was hardly fair to impose his sense of placement and décor on her all the way around so he left it alone as she never went overboard, although he missed his curtains. But Belle didn't try to change him, or interfere with his business. She didn't ask for unreasonable things, when she asked for anything at all, and after she made him his birthday dinner it was obvious she was thoughtful and considerate of him, if not all out friendly. He hoped she felt as if he was being equally thoughtful toward her.

Still, he understood what she was saying. "We'll keep the outside door to your room locked. You can go through my room to get there. If he asks I'll tell him the same thing we were going to tell anyone from immigration." He shrugged. "You wanted your own space to get ready in the morning."

"All right." She agreed after a moment of thought. "But I'm not real sure how long that's going to work."

"We can worry about that if it happens." He said reasonably, since he didn't know what else to say about it short of inviting her to start sleeping in his bed with him. Somehow, he rather thought that wouldn't go over well, especially considering the circumstances behind the invitation.

He saw she was doubtful, but she didn't push the issue. "He looks like you." She said in way of changing the subject.

"Not especially so." He disagreed. His son was a handsome boy and he was grateful he inherited his looks from Mila if nothing else.

Belle cocked her head a little. "Yes, he does." She insisted. "I could tell when I met him, but seeing you beside each other really sets it off."

He was less than convinced. "He looks like his mother." He told her. "Which is lucky for him."

Belle frowned. "You don't think you're a handsome man do you?" She asked as if she had assumed this for some time.

He raised an eyebrow. "Not especially so."

She wasn't happy with that. "Well you are." She told him in such a matter of fact tone that he was sure she wasn't lying.

"It's a sweet sentiment, dearie."

She sent him a look that told him he was annoying her. "It's not a sentiment. You're an attractive man." She shook her head and closed the whole issue, as if she found his views so ludicrous they should not even be given the courtesy of discussion. "What exactly should I be expecting to happen over the next few days?"

"Most likely a messy home. He is a teenage boy."

Her lip twitched like mad. "I figured that. But seriously, what's going to happen?"

"If someone doesn't come to take him back immediately I suspect this is going to be a rather nasty legal battle." He told her honestly, it was only fair that she knew. "My lawyer may come here, as well as someone from child services to be sure this is a safe environment."

She frowned. "Are you serious?"

"No one will be playing fair." He told her, which was the truth. Mila would be fighting like a cat on fire to prevent this despite the neglect of her son. "You'll most likely be background checked, which is nothing to worry about as you have a good, respectable job and no criminal history. You also don't associate with anyone that's been in trouble before. My finances will no doubt be gone over with a fine-toothed comb to be sure I've been behaving myself. Anyone and everyone that's involved will interview Bae. It's helpful that he's older now. He may not have age majority, but people will take his opinion into account since he's almost fourteen." She nodded, clearly taking all this in with a seriousness that he appreciated. "I may also have to go back to Scotland for a week or so if they ask me to appear in court, but that I'm not sure about."

"Okay." She said calmly. "What should I be doing?"

"You don't need to be worried about doing anything."

"Don't be ridiculous, Russell. I want to help. Me sitting around like a bump on a log won't do any good."

His lip twitched slightly. "I appreciate that." He told her. "But honestly most of this is going to be about Bae, not you. Getting him settled is more than I can ask, and you already seem set on doing that."

She sighed a little, disappointed that she couldn't help him more. "All right, but you'll tell me if you need something?"

"Yes." He said as a sense of relief filled him. It was nice having someone here to help him. It was nice having someone here that he could trust to do things right, even if she would go about them differently.

"Good." She said and then looked out at the dark garden for a moment. "I'm going to go to bed then. You be sure to sleep too."

"I'm going to bed as soon as I finish my tea."

"All right." She turned to go and he stopped her briefly.

"Thank you, Belle." She turned her attention to him. "For helping me with this. For helping Bae."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. You would do the same thing if it was the other way around." With that she left, her mind clearly working as busily as his was. When she was gone he picked his tea back up and sipped at it, feeling calmer now. He had been frazzled since she called him this afternoon letting him know his son was here and that hadn't changed until just now.

Sadly, he hadn't hidden it as well as he should have either. When he had looked up from the phone at last, feeling as if he had been on it all day instead of the last hour he noticed Belle was nowhere to be found and Bae was watching him anxiously. Unsure of what to do now that everything was taken care of for the moment, and with the feeling of being utterly unprepared for his son to be here despite his years of longing for it, he actually couldn't think of anything to say. At least nothing he wanted his son to hear as it was rather derogatory toward Mila. What he was feeling about Bae being here was far too strong and abstract to put into words even if he wanted to at any rate, and having spent nearly a decade learning to hide his emotions at all costs he simply had no idea what to verbalize that would be comforting or helpful.

His son interpreted the silence incorrectly. "You aren't happy that I'm here." Bae said miserably.

His entire being reacted to that and his heart wrenched painfully that his son could think that. All at once his parental instincts roared back to life and he simply reacted the right way. Grabbing his son he pulled him into a hug at once, happier to see him than he could ever hope to convey. When he spoke his accent went thick, triggered either by emotion or at hearing the very same brogue of it falling from his son's lips. "Of course I'm happy." He said at once. "Don't for one second think I'm not." He held him away a little so he could see his son's face, which had lost most of it's baby fat since he last saw him. The boy was now also nearly as tall as him, barely even a head shorter now, which was beyond bizarre to him. The last time he had seen him he had barely been above four feet high, having always been a small boy. He must have hit a growth spurt recently because he had shot up at least a full foot. And that really only made it harder, knowing he had missed so much time. "You scared me witless running off this way." He squeezed his shoulders. "Anything could have happened to you."

"I'm sorry." His son said sincerely. "I just want to stay with you." All at once his shoulder's slumped. "They won't let me will they? Not really."

Something, some fire caught and grew in his chest. All at once he was ready for a fight and he had no intention of loosing, not when he got a second chance. He'd never been given a second chance before and he wasn't about to squander it. "You're staying." He said firmly, thanking whatever god or fate brought the boy here safely. "Let them try to get you away from me this time."

Bae wasn't convinced. "But the courts-"

"Bugger the bloody courts." He growled as he pulled him into another hug. "I'll work this out, all right?"

Bae hugged him tightly and nodded. "It's okay then? With you?"

He let him go. "Of course it's okay." He didn't know why Bae would think any differently. "You should have been with me the whole time."

"It's different now." Bae said anxiously.

"How is it different?" He asked, puzzled.

Bae glanced back toward the door. "You didn't have a friend before."

"A friend?" He asked blankly.

"She said you were friends." Bae said, and all at once he realized his son was trying to be delicate. "Mom's friends never wanted me around."

"You mean Belle?" He asked, just to be sure they were talking about the same person.

"She seems nice." Bae said hesitantly, although it was clear he was worried this would be a roadblock to him staying. "She won't mind that I'm here?"

"No." He said at once. "Of course not." Then he told Bae something he hoped would sooth him. "She wanted to meet you when I told her about you."

"Really?"

"Yes." He assured him, and that was fully true. "She was upset when I told her the courts wouldn't let you visit."

"Visiting you isn't the same as living here." His son pointed out.

He reached up and ran his hand over his boy's curls briefly. He didn't like this mindset at all. He had more than a suspicion over what caused him to think this way too. He didn't know if he wanted to kill Mila or Killian more for it. "No, it's not. That doesn't change anything though. If you want to stay here then I'll be sure you stay here." He meant to keep that promise. "Belle will be more than happy to have you here."

Bae didn't seem fully convinced. "Okay, papa."

He smiled, trying to reassure him. "You'll like, Belle." He told him, sure this was true. Everyone liked Belle. "She's a very sweet person."

Bae nodded. "Okay." He couldn't tell if Bae was agreeing that he would like her, or if he was trying to tell him that he would be sure this worked as long as he could stay here with him. "Does she live here with you?"

"Yes." He said honestly.

"You didn't tell me when we talked on your birthday."

He felt guilty over that now, but there was no way he could have predicted that this was going to happen. If he had thought for one second Bae would be here he would have let him know, or never entered into this deal to begin with since it might be upsetting for the boy. However, things were what they were now. He couldn't go back in time and undo it, and truthfully he wasn't sure if he would at this point. He was too fond of her company now. He was too used to her being here and being part of his life. "No." He agreed. "Maybe I should have, but I wanted to talk about you, not me."

"How long as she lived here?" Bae asked, curious now.

"Since last May." He told him, watching him carefully. "Does that bother you?"

"No." Bae said, and he didn't see any deceit in him. "I wish you had told me though. I always worried you were lonely."

His heart twinged. "You don't need to worry about me." He told him. "It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around."

"Someone should worry about you." Bae told him. "Everyone should have someone to worry about them."

"I assure you Belle worries enough for three people." He told him. "So you're off the hook."

Bae smiled, the first one he'd seen since he'd arrived. He immediately felt better that his son felt better. "She must make you happy."

His heart twinged again. "She does." He agreed, and a strange combination of warmth and anxiety filled him. There was something else there too, but he wasn't willing to acknowledge it. "I promise you'll like her." Bae nodded again and he patted his shoulder one more time. "Do you want to see the house?"

Bae's eyes lit up eagerly. "Yes please."

"Come on then. We'd better get started before dinner."

"What happens at dinner?" Bae asked curiously as they headed out of the office.

He replied dryly. "Belle will make you sit down and talk to her. Horrifying practice." Bae laughed at that and he sent him a sidelong look. "Come on, we can start down here and work our way up." Bae followed him with interest as he showed him around, looking at all the odds and ends he had collected since moving here. He enjoyed it, enjoyed showing his son where he hoped he would be living, and when they made it to the kitchen he saw Belle was setting the table. When she saw them she called a brief halt to the tour and sure enough made them sit down and eat. For the first time in a long time she was mostly quiet, but it wasn't out of nervousness or because they'd had a fight. She was simply listening to them as they caught up, trying not to intrude. That bothered him on a deep level, that she was trying to stay out of the way as much as possible. He felt she shouldn't be doing that, and yet this wasn't permanent, this arrangement. He wasn't sure how he felt about that anymore, or what he was going to do come November.

Author Note: Sorry about the delay, school is madness. Hope you enjoyed it!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The spring and early summer had flown by, and it seemed that all at once it was August and she was being sure Bae had everything he needed for when school started in a few weeks. She wondered how the time had gotten away from her because she had been intent on savoring these last few months here. It was hard though, hard to make time pass by slowly when she was happy, when she was content and having fun, when she realized that she felt like she finally belonged somewhere. Her conversation with Gold that she'd had so long ago while they sat together in the living room late at night was all but haunting her. How could she have known, or even guessed, that this crazy, cluttered, museum of a house would finally be what made her feel like she belonged? How could she had known that he of all people would be the one to make her feel right inside? She couldn't have known and she was starting to regret this deal in a whole new way as her feelings kept tipping from extreme euphoria to near desolation in turns. She wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with this as she had never been overly emotional to begin with. She hadn't been at all prepared to deal with this. She tried not to think about it and focused on this new aspect to her living situation.

She had been more than a little worried that Bae wouldn't like her, especially after Gold told him they were married the morning after he arrived. The teen had simply looked at both of them as he sat at the table, processing that, with a bowl of cereal for a moment before nodding and smiling at her nervously. But to her great delight she and Bae had hit it off almost immediately. She supposed that was helped in large part by them being forced to spend so much time together those first few weeks he was here. Gold had been on the phone or in Boston throughout the weeks to talk to his lawyer while he was trying to get custody of Bae. She knew it wasn't how Gold would have liked things to play out, she was sure he would much rather be helping Bae get settled, but he was dead set on being sure his son didn't go anywhere.

Gold had played the whole thing terribly well. Apparently, from what she understood, the courts had originally granted custody of the boy to his mother because they felt it was a more stable environment. Most of the decision had rested on the fact that it would be even more upsetting for a young boy to be shuffled back and forth between countries on top of a divorce, and as it was believed that children tended to be better with their mothers he was placed with Mila. Bae needed a stable, safe environment, and remained in Scotland. She rather suspected there was more to the story than that as Gold seemed as stable and dependable a parent as one could ask for, but Bae didn't seem to suspect what she did and Russell wasn't forthcoming in details.

However, Gold was quick to leap at those main reasons to turn the whole thing to his benefit. He quickly and brutally pointed out that his son had hardly been in a stable environment. With Mila vanishing at any given time, leaving him with friends, babysitters, his maternal grandmother, and eventually boarding school at the drop of a hat so she could travel, he had plenty of evidence that his son was not secure in a family home. He also found more than enough people to testify that his ex-wife had a new boyfriend every few months until she settled on one she liked for the last two years. Unfortunately, the man she had picked, the one Bae professed to dislike so much, was a con artist and thief. He had a criminal record that no one could deny and she wasn't sure what mother in their right mind would allow a felon near their child.

Gold simply continued to take advantage as he gathered more information at a rate that was both impressive and disquieting considering he was in another country. She wondered if he had hired a private detective to help because she couldn't think of any other way for him to have pulled it off. Regardless, a convicted criminal wasn't safe to have around his son, and when he found out about that she could see he was fit to spit fire. It wasn't safe to leave your child all over the place when one decided one had wonder lust, and it certainly wasn't safe to leave your child at school with no emergency contact information available. In the end he had everything set up, had contacted child services in Scotland and in Storybrooke, and had three video interviews on his computer with the judge in charge of the case before Mila could even be contacted, by anyone, including the police. His ex-wife finally returned home from her trip with Killian ten days after Bae arrived in New England to what she could only assume was sheer chaos and at least a hundred messages on her home phone.

Once she was finally available to be talked to everything had happened very quickly. The judge had allowed a video session since Gold had won him over already with the condition that all lawyers were present, as well as David Nolen who somehow became a character witness for Russell. She wondered if Gold had promised him a favor or if the sheriff was trying to pay her back for selling him the house. Regardless, it was helpful and she had thanked him the day after with a batch of cookies she walked over to the station before she went into work. The hearing had been easily taken care of, and after two hours, an interview with Bae where he got to say what he wanted, and a reading of the report from the social service worker that had come to their house and talked to all of them three days before, it was done.

The judge ruled in Gold's favor without blinking an eye and when Mila, who she couldn't see from where she was sitting in the room began to yell in outrage the judge cut her off authoritatively. The whole thing, which had been civil up to that point, had disintegrated quickly on the other end of the interview in Scotland. Gold ushered both her and his son out of the back of his shop where they had enough space and privacy to take care of the interview so they didn't have to hear what was being said, which was in no way kind. What happened after that she wasn't sure, but an hour later both Russell and his lawyer came out to the front where she had been showing Bae some things Gold had hidden under the counters to keep him occupied. Both of them looked pleased with themselves and when the sheriff followed after she saw his shaking his head as if he couldn't believe whatever had just happened. The other men had left soon after, his lawyer promising to send the paperwork out first thing in the morning to make everything fully legal, and it was done. When Gold told Bae he would be staying the boy had smiled with heart breaking joy and all but tackled his father, who barely managed to keep himself upright with his bad leg. He hardly seemed to care about that though as he hugged his son back, looking happier than she had ever seen him.

Once Russell got custody the frantic desperation that had filled the house dissipated. Bae, who had shown a remarkable amount of control over his anxiety really and truly relaxed despite being in a completely new environment. Gold was simply radiating contentment and joy. For her part she was pleased it had worked out in their favor and went about making sure Bae was settled. Despite it being early spring, and the school year only a month or so from being done she had urged Gold to get him enrolled quickly. When he protested that Bae would easily be able to catch up next year, not wanting to throw him into too much at once, she pointed out that this would be the easiest way for him to make new friends. As she recalled very clearly how hard the first few months here had been for her had been being new and alone she didn't want to prolong the transition for Bae. It would be much harder to meet people his age during the summer holiday when everyone was spread out, running about, and on vacation. She didn't want the boy feeling trapped with them, and rather thought that as a young teenager he might want to spend time with people his own age on occasion as that was both healthy and normal. Gold had conceded the point when she put it like that, and by the first week of May Bae was in school.

Bae's arrival caused quite a stir. No one knew Gold had a son and his appearance was unsurprisingly met with as much gossip as their marriage had caused. Luckily, Bae was too new here to notice it, and she was sure to keep him away from the gossipmongers as much as she was able. Gold had taken the same route, although they had never verbally agreed to that course of action. She rather thought that there were enough questions aimed directly at her to make up for them not getting at Bae and it took nearly every iota of patience she had to deal with it. Even Ruby had gone at her, interrogating her about it as if Gold had committed some sort of crime against her by having a child long before they ever met. It had taken her a good two hours to convince Ruby that not only had she known he had a son, but that she was perfectly happy to have him living with them. Ruby was suspicious of her answers, but eventually let it go, no doubt thinking she would have some sort of emotional break down in the future and she would deal with that when it came.

Deciding to pick her battles she had let Ruby think what she wanted and went about getting her home life in order. Bae was easy enough to take care of, which she suspected was because he had learned to fend for himself rather earlier than he should have, and expected very little in the way of help. That upset her more than she was going to share with anyone and when the boy realized how much she was doing for him, from going shopping with him for clothes to helping him set up the bedroom the way he wanted, it was clear he had no idea how to react to the simple kindness of it. She had made no mention of his awkward shyness over the whole matter and simply did what she thought she should do. After the first few days he began to really warm up to her instead of being unfailingly polite to be nice and that made everything much better for both of them with Russell being so busy.

Since then they had gotten on very well and she found the teenager was just as smart as she had initially thought. He was also very funny, and had her laughing nearly every time they talked with his humorous, if sarcastic view on life. He was all around a kind person, and she wondered if this was what Russell had been like before life started taking bites out of him. She rather thought it must be as she watched him interact with Bae. It was like twenty years and all his worries dropped off him when he was with his son. She had never thought he could be so pleasant, even if he had shown her that side of himself on rare occasions, but with Bae he didn't try to hide it away.

The man was clearly made to be a father and he didn't fight the instinct off, simply embraced it with joy. If anything it only made things harder for her because no matter how well things were going she could feel the time ticking away. And with everything that had been going on she still hadn't come up with a concrete back up plan as Archie suggested, although what she was considering in the back of her head was becoming a more realistic option by the day. It seemed feasible, and she thought it a better idea than staying here after their arrangement ended. As the plan floated in the background trying to fully solidify so she could help herself, the other part of her, the part that refused to listen to logic, was trying to claw it back in desperation. Sadly, she knew eventually that part was going to loose out, which was fully depressing, so she tried not to think about things on more than a surface level.

So, completely at loose ends with her own life she simply tried not to think about it. Instead she focused on helping Bae, as that was far easier. It also turned out to be a rather ridiculous affair that endeared her to the teenager more than even feeding him everyday. He had told her that he liked to play football, or soccer as they called it in this country, and she had asked Mary Margaret if she knew when tryouts were since she worked at the school. She thought it a wonderful and easy way to make friends and if Bae already liked the sport all the better. Not that he was having trouble in that area. The novelty of having a new classmate was enough to get the whole process started as the other children were fascinated with him and his accent, and Bae's easy going personality helped a great deal. The other kids didn't care that his father was the scariest man in town, mostly because they didn't bother to pay attention to things like that, and Bae had no difficulty in that respect either, which was fortunate for him.

Sadly, Mary Margaret told her the wrong time and day, and called her right as she was closing the library frantically to let her know tryouts were starting in fifteen minutes instead of the next day as she had originally thought. She had let out a squeak of dismay and hung up on the woman before bolting out the door, locking it hurriedly behind her. She thought it was just lucky that she had tossed his new cleats and shin guards in Russell's trunk last night so they wouldn't forget them for tryouts. The plan had been for Gold to drop him off from the shop, but that was clearly out the window.

She raced across the street to Gold's store, only tripping in her heels twice in her haste, and ran inside quickly. Throwing the door open had the bell ringing like mad and Gold glanced up from the pieces of a pocket watch he was clearly trying to put back together. "Where's Bae?" She asked as she panted lightly, searching the place as she stood in the doorway. He had been coming to the shop after school since he started two weeks before instead of going back to the house. She thought he was simply trying to catch up with his father, and found it easier when she wasn't around. Figuring that it was easier for both of them when she wasn't around she said nothing about it, only asked at dinner if Bae found the store interesting before going upstairs to read so she was out of the way.

Gold raised his eyebrow. "The park." He told her calmly. "With another of the boys from school."

"And you let him go?" She asked in exasperation and she moved closer to him.

He sent her a look. "For someone that was so keen on being sure he made friends it seems counterproductive to stop him from doing just that."

"Stop being logical." She told him as she pulled her keys out and set them beside the watch parts. "Keys." She demanded, holding her hand out and opening and closing her fingers as a way of prompting him.

"Why do you want my keys?" He asked.

"Because! Trade me!" There really was not time to explain this, find Bae, and get him to tryouts in twelve minutes.

Eyeing her he reached into his pocket and pulled them out. She snatched them at once and quickly took his car key off the ring. "I'm taking your car. Mine's still at the library so you can drive it home."

"Belle, dearie-"

"No time!" She turned and raced back toward the door as she gave him quick instructions. "And if the engine doesn't turn over, just get out and kick the left hand side real hard. That'll usually work."

"What?" He demanded. "Why haven't you had it looked at if it won't start?"

"No time!" She called to him as she yanked the door back open. "Eleven minutes!"

"Eleven minutes to what?" He called after her as she raced out the door as fast as she had come in.

She ignored this question and ran around to the side alley where he parked. Getting into his car quickly she started it and drove to the park. Opening the window as she pulled up next to it she looked around until she finally spotted Bae tossing a baseball around with Marco's son August. She thought he was a year or two younger than Bae, but couldn't rightly remember at the moment. It was just as likely they were the same age and August was shorter than Gold's son. She honked the horn when she saw them and both boys looked over. She waved to Bae frantically as she called to him out the window. "Tryouts are in eight minutes!"

Bae frowned as he trotted toward her, August trailing after. "You said they were tomorrow."

"I know!" She said as he got closer. "I'm a terrible, misinformed person! Hurry up or you're going to be late!" Bae ran the rest of the way to the car and she looked at August. "Did you want to try out too?"

"Naw." He said, tossing the baseball up and catching it easily. "I don't like soccer."

Bae got in the car quickly. "See you later, August!"

August waved and she turned the car quickly and headed toward the school. "Sorry, Bae." She said sincerely. "I just found out."

"That's all right." He said, unruffled. "Now I don't have time to get nervous about it."

That was a nice outlook on life. "All your stuff is in the trunk."

"Okay." He said as she was forced to stop at a red light. "What kinds of things do I have to do?"

"At tryouts?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"I really don't know." She told him as the light turned green and she headed toward the school. "I never played sports in school."

"You didn't?" He asked.

"No, I'm not good at them." She told him. "I fall over too much."

Bae snorted out a laugh at that. "You didn't play any sports?"

"Well, volleyball for about ten minutes and then I… um… had an accident and decided to switch to the chess club."

He cocked his head to the side. "What kind of accident?"

She flinched noticeably, not wanting to relive the moment, which still embarrassed her eleven years later. "I tripped and ran into the side of the net. I sort of knocked it over and accidently captured over half my team in it. And the bar it was hanging on hit me in the head and gave me a concussion when it fell over." Bae burst out laughing and she sighed. "Just… don't tell your dad that. He already thinks I'm a clumsy wreck. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Did that really happen?" He asked, fully amused.

She sighed. "Yes, my dad had to take me to the hospital. I had a lump on my head for a week."

"That sounds like it hurt." He said.

"I was more embarrassed than anything." She told him. "But at least my dad was there. That made the whole thing better. He always brought me flowers after I seriously injured myself."

"Your dad lives here too?"

"He did." She said as the dull ache took up residence in her chest as it always did when she thought about her father. "He died last year."

"Oh." Bae clearly didn't know what to say and she immediately felt bad for making him uncomfortable. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She told him, although it wasn't at all. "But the moral of the story is I have no idea what you have to do at tryouts. I suspect there will be running, and possibly a lot of kicking the ball at the goal. Do you think you can handle it?"

He shook his head, trying not to smile. "Do you know anything about football?"

"I know here they call it soccer." She said brightly, trying to forget about her father. "And that a goal is worth a point."

"I can see there are things I need to teach you."

She smiled at him as she pulled up to the soccer field behind the school. There were already kids getting ready to start. "It'll have to wait." They both got out and she opened the trunk for him and he grabbed his new sports bag out of it quickly. He had picked it out along with the shoes when they were looking online for things. It was rather plain in her opinion, but what did she know about it? "Good luck." She told him as she shut the trunk. "I'll be back in a few hours, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Belle."

She smiled and chased him off. "Have fun!" He waved to her as he got to the other boys and the coach and she got back in the car. Driving home she saw her car was already in the driveway and parked next to it. After locking the car up she went inside and found Gold must have only beat her inside by about thirty seconds as he was putting his wallet and keys down on the entryway table.

"Are you going to tell me why you stole my car?" He asked.

"I brought it back." She told him as she slipped out of her shoes. "If I was going to steal a car I would have picked something that goes faster than yours." He narrowed his eyes at that and she smiled at him teasingly. "A Ferrari perhaps."

"I'll keep that in mind if one should show up in the driveway."

She laughed. "All Bae's soccer stuff was in your trunk. I got the day for tryouts mixed up and it would have taken too long to go back to my car with it."

"It was today?"

"So I was told fifteen minutes before it started." She told him as she headed farther into the house. "It goes until seven."

He followed after her, his cane clicking on the wood floors behind her. "I'll pick him up." He told her. "Now, about your car-"

"What about it?" She asked, her mind on what she should make for dinner.

"It wouldn't start."

"Did you kick it?" She asked. "I told you that. It almost always works."

"Yes." He said dryly. "I kicked it. It was a very dignified affair."

She laughed as she pictured that and began to get out things to make dinner. "Then what's the problem?"

"We're taking it to the mechanic shop tomorrow." He told her.

"It's fine."

"It doesn't start."

"It starts most of the time." She assured him. "Maybe you just don't have the magic touch."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's the problem." He said in such a way that she swore there was a hint of suggestion in his tone. However, he kept talking and she wasn't sure if she really heard it at all. "The problem is the engine won't turn over."

"I've had it looked at before." She told him. "It would cost more to fix it than to get a new car. It has something to do with the engine block, or, you know, other expensive thing that I can't fully recall." Really, she knew nothing about cars and had promptly forgot whatever the mechanic had told her when she'd brought it in to be looked at two years prior. All she had heard was the price. Since it had never been all that important, and the car had always eventually turned on, she'd simply stopped worrying about it.

He sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Then we need to get you a new car."

She shot him a look of bemusement. "No."

"No?"

"I'm not buying a new car. Are you crazy?" She wasn't about to drop that kind of money. She might have some in the bank, but with no real idea as to what was going to happen in a few months she didn't want to spend a large portion of it on a frivolous expense. "Mine is fine."

"It's not at all fine."

"I'm not buying a new car because mine isn't perfect." She told him.

"This has nothing to do with perfect. It doesn't work properly."

"It gets me from here to work. That's all I need it to do. Where else do I go?"

He was less than convinced. "What if you want to go somewhere other than Storybrooke?"

"I'll take the bus or chance it in my car."

"That's ridiculous." He stated flatly. "You may well be stranded if there's an emergency. That's not safe."

"Look, Russell, I'm not buying a car. That's too expensive and I don't even know what I'll be doing in a few months. I might need that money."

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Our deal." She said, trying hard to keep herself realistic the way she had gone into this. "I know things have been exciting around here, but I doubt you've forgotten the terms of our agreement."

"No." He said, although she really thought he had been thrown by the mention of it. "But I don't see how that factors in. You made plenty off the house. What are you intending to spend it on?" She shrugged in way of reply and began to pull out pans and a pot to cook with. There was silence behind her as he turned that over, no doubt sensing she was holding back. After several moments he prompted her. "Well you clearly have it earmarked for something. What is it?"

"I just think I'll need it." She said evasively.

"Yes, so you've said." He replied dryly.

She sighed quietly, knowing he wasn't going to let this go until he worked it out. She could either tell him or he would start snooping. "For a new house."

"I thought you wanted the apartment over the library?" He said.

"I've changed my mind." She told him honestly.

"Then I'm sure I can help you find what you want with enough left over to afford a car."

She turned around and leaned back against the counter. "Look, I think we both know money isn't the issue." She couldn't believe she was bringing this up after she had avoided it so much, but with Bae here… Well, she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to draw this out. She didn't know how that would affect his son in the long run and with her already liking him she thought getting any further attached was a horrible idea. "Why'd you give me the money back?"

"What money?" He asked blankly.

She was thrown by his tone. "The money from the loan."

"I didn't give you any money."

She frowned. "Yes, you did. Two weeks ago right before Bae showed up. It was in my bank account."

His eyes glittered with satisfaction and she knew something was going on, but he denied it again. "I didn't put anything into your bank account, dearie."

She was now very confused. "Then how did it get there?"

"I have no idea." He said, but she knew he was lying about that. "Did you ask the bank?"

"No." She said slowly.

"I would start there." He suggested.

She wavered as he watched her and after several moments simply asked what she had been worried about. "Do- do you want it?"

"Do I want what?"

"The money I owe you." She said with frustration. He knew very well what she was talking about.

He was leaning easily on his cane. "As I recall you don't owe me any money."

This conversation was not going the way she had anticipated. "I thought…"

"You thought what?" She didn't really want to tell him what she had thought. He must have seen the confusion and anxiety on her face because he actually let her off the hook. "I assure you that money didn't come from me."

She actually believed that, but there was still something going on. "But you know where it came from." It wasn't a question.

"Perhaps." He agreed. "But it's yours."

"No, it's yours." She insisted. "You shouldn't have given it to me."

"It's not from the loan, dearie, it's from your father's life insurance policy."

Her forehead crinkled as her confusion increased. "The insurance company already gave that to me."

"Did it? There must have been an error in their accounting then."

Her frustration was growing. "I know that isn't true." She wanted answers. "I paid all his hospital bills with it. I know where it went."

"Yes, I know you did." He was watching her closely now. "That was a very expensive bill. It was even higher than the loan."

"How do you know that?" She asked sharply.

He ignored that question, which irritated her. "He was sick longer than three months wasn't he?" He asked gently.

She looked away from him. "Yes."

He shifted closer to her. "How long was he really sick, dearie?"

She sighed and looked back up. "Off and on since I was seventeen. It wasn't so bad the other times."

"I'm sorry." He said softly, reaching up and tucking a curl back out of her face. "That couldn't have been easy for you."

"I think it was rather harder on my father." She told him honestly. He stroked her cheek gently and she simply let him for a moment before speaking. "Where did the money really come from?"

Leaning down he kissed her cheek. "It's yours. Stop worrying about it." He shifted back. "Think about what kind of car you want."

She gave him a look. "No."

"Yes." He said, tapping her nose before turning to go. "It's not a safe vehicle. I'm not letting you and Bae drive around in that thing. It could explode."

"It could explode?" She said, amused despite him arguing with her about her car. "Seriously?"

"One more good kick and up in flames it goes."

"I'm not getting a new car." She told him firmly as he headed out of the kitchen.

"You're not getting a used one. You never really know what they've been through." He informed her. "Now I have some things to get done before I pick up Bae. We can go next weekend."

"No, Russell."

"Make sure you pick one with a proper safety rating."

"No, Russell." She said louder as he walked farther away.

"We can talk about it tomorrow, dearie." He called back.

"No!" She insisted loudly. Her only answer was the soft sound of his office door shutting. All she could do was roll her eyes. Somehow she was sure he was going to get his way about this. She supposed she could always sell it back in a few months when she left. It seemed easier than fighting him on it.

Author's Note: New chapter! Woooo!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

When her alarm went off that morning she came awake groggily. She hadn't a very good night, and she was pretty sure she hadn't slept for more than two or three hours. Needless to say she wasn't quite as perky as she normally was and rolled out of bed tiredly. Dressing quietly she tried to wake up properly so she would be functional. All she had to do was make it through today and tomorrow she could sleep in as long as she wanted as it was her day off and the first Saturday in months Bae didn't have a soccer game. By the time she walked downstairs she thought she at least looked put together other than yawning every few seconds. As she got things out to cook, knowing both Russell and Bae were big breakfast eaters, she heard the teen wake up. He was not quiet and constantly slammed the door to the bathroom, and every other room, something that drove his father right up the wall, although she rarely thought about it after the first week or so he was here. After four and a half months she thought Gold should have acclimated. She didn't know why this of all things drove Gold crazy, but it was fairly funny to watch. She swore he was developing a tick from it. She thought it might be best for his sanity to simply accept that Bae didn't understand that sound travelled rather than let it irritate him, but that was just her.

Getting out eggs and bread she started making scrambled eggs and was finishing up when Russell came in. He was glaring up at the ceiling as another door slammed and muttering under his breath about silence being golden. She said nothing about it as she stirred the eggs, her mind running over what she wanted to read to the kids today, and he greeted her craggily. "Good morning, dearie."

"Good morning." She said in a subdued voice.

He took her in as he went to the coffeepot. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just tired." She yawned out. "Long week." And that was true. Having never had to take care of a child she hadn't been fully prepared for the amount of energy and time it took up. Not that she minded, but between her job, running the book club, getting things ready for miner's day as she had volunteered for it every year since she started at the library, and all of Bae's soccer games and running him around town she was wiped out. The door slammed above them again and Russell lost interest in her.

"Neal Bae Gold!" He shouted up at the ceiling. "Stop slamming doors! It's too bloody early for me to ask you nicely _again_!" Clearly, she wasn't the only one tired in this house.

"Sorry!" She heard the teen call back grumpily.

Gold rolled his eyes at the sulky tone, muttering about simply making a new child and replacing him with one that would not slam doors. Her lip twitched in amusement. Finishing with the food she put it on two plates, as she wasn't hungry which was normal for her first thing in the morning. Reaching over she grabbed a few apples and sliced them quickly, adding them to the plates as Bae tromped downstairs, with his hair sticking up oddly in the back, as if he had missed it when he was brushing his hair. Setting the plates on the table she went and got her own coffee, putting it in a travel mug. She thought it might be best to leave early to try to get a few extra things done before she had to open the library.

As she stirred some milk into the mug, having found the top of hiding in the back of the cabinet, Bae flopped down at the table. "Eggs again?" He sighed.

Before she could even ask what he would rather have Russell began grousing at him. It was clear the initial euphoria of having his son live with him had worn off a little. Not that he wasn't still overjoyed by it, they had all simply acclimated to the situation and Gold had easily reverted to his role as a normal father, which clearly meant his teenage son occasionally drove him nuts. On top of that he had been in a bit of a mood the last few days, although she had no idea why. "If you're going to be picky you can make your own breakfast. I doubt Belle's greatest wish is to get up earlier than she needs to in order to make you breakfast."

"I was only saying." Bae replied sullenly, having also grown accustomed to living with his father and occasionally resented him for existing as teenagers did. "We've had eggs the last four days."

Clearly, the whole household had all woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. She tried to soothe all the ruffled feathers back down. "I haven't had a chance to go to the grocery store to get anything else, Bae. I can go tomorrow afternoon. What would you like to have?"

"Don't start that." Gold said angrily, turning on her. "Not when he's being ungrateful about it."

"I'm not being ungrateful!" Bae threw back.

"Really?" He said sarcastically. She put the top on her cup as the argument began. She felt it was unfair they started this before she was allowed to even have a sip of the caffeine yet. "I haven't heard a thank you for anything in weeks."

"That's not true!" Bae protest, now as offended as his father. "I thanked Belle for making dinner last night!"

"A grunt is not a thank you!" His father snapped. "Despite your thoughts to the contrary!"

As much as she wanted to retreat as Gold leapt into the fray full force, both of them yelling now, she couldn't leave with this going on. When there was a brief pause she jumped in, surprising both of them when she yelled. "Enough!" Both of them looked at her with real surprise and she realized neither of them had ever heard her raise her voice before. "Both of you are overreacting." She said at a reasonable volume. "I would appreciate it if you would talk about this in a sensible way, or let it sit until this afternoon when you're both calmer. All you're going to do is get angry and fume for the next three weeks while you secretly feel guilty about the whole thing otherwise." Bea blinked at her, as if he hadn't thought of it that way, and Gold was about to growl something she was sure. "And don't pretend like that isn't true because we all know it is. Now, I'm going to work. This better be settled by the time I get home." She headed to the door. "Bae, apologize to your father for being hormonal, and if you make me a list of what you want I'll be sure to pick it up at the store. Russell, drink more coffee, you're as happy as a hibernating bear this morning and stirring up trouble for no other reason than to stir it up." She picked her mug up. "And be sure to mention somewhere in your mutual apologies that you love one another as you do. I hope you both have a good day."

With that she walked out, sipping at her coffee as she went. There was an awkward silence behind her as she left and she let it be, knowing they would need to get past that to get to the apology part. Sadly, her day got no better than a morning squabble. Regina came in to complain about everything she could think to complain about and threatened her job twice when she saw her plans for miner's day. Why she decided to come in today when she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the woman in months she had no idea, but she showed up all the same. Once she was finally rid of the woman she was overwhelmed by her children's reading group who were all particularly rambunctious, had to rescue several books from certain destruction by one child that somehow obtained a lighter, and then another child got sick in the corner.

By the time she closed the library twelve hours after she left the house she was set to go to sleep for the next week simply to forget about the day. Considering she had been exhausted before she went in what she felt like now was really very impressive. Sadly, it was clear that was not to be as Ruby had been waiting to ambush her behind the library. Her friend was apparently in the midst of some sort of vague but powerful connection with some man she had met at the club last weekend. The whole thing was ridiculous, but she was used to it coming from her friend of nearly fifteen years. Thirty minutes after the conversation started she accidently messed up, she thought due to exhaustion. She accidently let slip that she thought her friend was getting attached far more quickly than was at all normal or healthy, although it hadn't come out quite that nicely, which truly had not been her intention at all.

What followed was what she considered a rather dramatic overreaction to a simple statement. Ruby had ranted at her about not caring, understanding, or supporting her for about five minutes before storming off across the road. Feeling stung by the encounter she resolved to put it out of her head, because it would only make her mad and she really had no interest in being angry with her friend. She truly felt as if Ruby had been unfair to her. Normally she didn't mind talking, consoling, and otherwise supporting her friend, but she thought it was a little much to ask to not expect an opinion Ruby didn't agree with once in awhile. So when she finally managed to get home all she wanted to do was take a hot bath and curl up with a book in her window seat until she passed out.

Opening the door she stepped inside and had barely closed it behind her when Russell stepped out of his office farther down the hall. She gave him a tired smile, really trying to pull herself together. "Hello." She said as she set her bag down on the table. "Did Bae make me a list?"

He frowned and it was only then that she noticed his mood was anything but good. "No."

"Oh." She said, confused as to why he was unhappy. "Did he forget?" She supposed that was possible. "I'll go remind him-"

"Bae's not here."

She frowned in confusion. It was past seven, Bae should be home. "Where is he?"

"Staying with a friend tonight." He told her before jumping right into a whole new argument. "And I want you to stop interfering with my parenting."

"What?" She asked, so startled she could think of nothing else to say.

"He's my son!" He snapped, his voice rising at once. "I'm trying to teach him lessons in courtesy and respect and you are undermining my authority!"

She took offense to that because it was blatantly untrue. "I've done no such thing!"

"You did this morning!"

"By ending a ridiculous argument I'm undermining your authority as a parent? Are you serious?" Her temper was rising rapidly, clashing nastily with her already hurt feelings and tiredness.

"I want him to see why it was wrong to demand things!"

"By starting a yelling match first thing in the morning?" She snapped. "All you have to do is tell him! You don't have to start a fight!"

He got nasty fast. "Yes, I'm sure as someone with no children you're an expert on it."

"Don't even start that crap with me!" She would not be put down in such a way. "You're just angry because you know I'm right!"

"Do you know what Bae learned this morning?"

She sent him a look, more than willing to go all the way with this if he was. "That there is a way to shut you up?"

He banged his cane on the ground angrily. "That he can get whatever he wants because you can be manipulated!"

"Oh for Christ's sake, Gold!" She snarled. "If you had just asked him to thank me calmly instead of jumping down his throat that never would have gotten out of hand. He's your son, not a tenant! You can't expect him to be perfect all the time! He's fourteen!"

"I expect him to be well behaved!"

"You expect him to do exactly what you want him to do exactly when you want it done!" She yelled. "He's one of the most well behaved teenagers on the planet and you keep pushing him and pushing him! Eventually he has to snap! Why are you always so surprised that it happens when you're the one that's being unreasonable?"

"Expecting good behavior is not unreasonable!" He yelled. "I am not an unreasonable person!"

"Like hell you aren't!" She threw back, on a roll now. "You're a stubborn bastard that throws spiteful, nasty temper tantrums whenever you don't get your way! You're only angry right now because you were in the wrong and you know it! It isn't my fault you got in a fight with your son and it isn't my fault I happened to be here when it happened! You're the one that wanted a wife! Maybe you should have thought about what that meant before you made this deal!"

He snarled at her, enraged that she was fighting back, and doing so effectively. "This is a temporary situation and you are hardly my wife!" He told her loudly. "You are a convenient solution to a problem! No man in his right mind would want to marry you in any real sense! You're a gawky, opinionated woman whose only hope of romance is to be found between the pages of one of your dusty books!" He snarled.

"At least I know what romance is!" She threw back, cut to the quick. In all the time she had been here he had never once gone after her this way. She had no idea what had prompted this aggression, but she wasn't going to just sit here and take it. "You're a pathetic man who clings to his money as some sort of shield! It won't protect you and it won't make you brave! All your money will give you in the end is an empty house and regret! You're pushing Bae away because you're afraid he's going to leave even though he came all this way to be with you! Why can't you just believe that someone can care about you, especially your own son? You're sabotaging yourself because you're a coward!"

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

"You're afraid of everything you can't control!" She threw back. "It scares you to the core that at the end of the day you can't control Bae! It scares you that you can't make him love you!"

"At least I have someone to love me!" He threw back. "As I understand it everyone that loved you is dead!"

That hit her so hard she went silent as she simply wailed inside. All at once the hurt she had been pushing back and hiding for so long slammed into her full force. She felt overwhelmed by it and it must have shown on her face. Immediately he regretted that, she saw it in his expression, in the way he was holding himself. There was no satisfaction in getting her to be quiet. There was no triumph in his victory. All there was between them now was remorse and pain. The silence stretched between them for long, horrible seconds before she spoke softly. "That is true."

"Belle-" His voice was soft, and she heard the guilt in it. "I didn't mean-"

"Of course you did." She said as she picked her bag back up and turned to the door. Without another word she walked out, shutting the door quietly behind her. There was no way she could stay here after that. She went back to her new car and was unlocking it when he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch.

"Dearie." He called, apologetic and gentle. "Come back inside."

She didn't say anything or acknowledge him. To do that would be to break down and she refused. Instead, she got in the car and pulled out of the driveway without looking at him. Knowing very well she couldn't go to see Ruby right now, and having nowhere else she could stay for the night she drove back to the library knowing no one else would be there. Parking behind the building in her normal spot she went inside quickly before anyone could see her and try to get her to stop and talk. Unlocking the back door she closed it firmly behind her and went in the back row with the history books. No one could see her here from the windows and she didn't bother to turn the lights on either. Sitting down with her back to the shelf she sank down and stared at the shadows of the room, barely comforted by the familiar atmosphere and smell of old books. She didn't manage to sit there long before she lost control and started to cry and was grateful no one else knew she was here. Bending her head down she just sat there and sobbed into her knees for what felt like forever.

She just hurt all the way through. All she wanted was her father back in that instant so he could tell her that this would be okay. Her life was completely out of control. How this had happened when she had worked so hard to make sure she was at a stable and good place was beyond her. She had done everything right. She had finished high school, gotten a good job, and had been planning to go to college once she saved up enough money. Then her father had gotten sick and she had done all she could for him. She did what she was supposed to do. She had done what family was supposed to do and somehow she had ended up here.

As she contemplated how wrong that was she was scared nearly witless when a heard something near the end of the bookshelf. Her head flew up and she saw Gold had come in search of her. When he spotted her huddled in the dark crying he moved closer and went down beside her, doing his best to crouch down with his leg, leaning heavily on his cane. How he found her was no mystery as this wasn't exactly a secret place, but she wasn't at all happy to see him, or to have him seeing her this visibly distressed. She turned her head away at once, grateful at least that her hair was long enough to conceal her face even if it was impossible to hide that she was very near full blown hysterics. "I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I'm sorry, Belle." His hand settled awkwardly on her shaking shoulder. "That isn't true."

"Yes, it is." She sobbed. "And I already knew. You didn't have to say it."

He squeezed her shoulder. "It isn't true." He told her as he sat fully down on the floor beside her. "Of course people love you."

She just cried because she knew she no longer had anyone that did. She had friends, but somehow there was always the acknowledgement that she was there to be the responsible one, the reasonable one, the one that was there to listen and give advice, but not be taken seriously or thought to have feelings of her own even when something important came up in her life. She thought her argument with Ruby proved that. And once she could live with that because she still had her father, who always treated her like she was special and worth something. But now he was gone and there was no one for her to fall back on. There was no one for her to talk to that cared what happened to her. There was no one left that put her first and that hurt more than she could say. She didn't have a family anymore no matter what she was trying to pretend in her head.

When she kept crying it was obvious Gold really had no idea what to do with her. "Stop now, dearie." He tried to soothe her, but had no skill with it. "I didn't mean it. It was thoughtless thing to say."

It had been anything but thoughtless. He had thrown that out specifically to hurt her as she well knew. "Leave me alone." She cried. "You got what you wanted. Why are you here trying to undo it?"

She could actually feel the guilt falling off of him in waves. "This isn't what I wanted." He said with quiet regret. Reaching up he tried to brush her hair out of her face the way he always did when he was being affectionate and she pulled away from him at once. He dropped his hand but scooted closer so he was right in front of her. Her leg, which she had pulled up to her chest, brushed against him. "Belle, dearie, I'm sorry." He was so adamant about it that she really believed him, that didn't make the hurt stop though. "You're right, I do push people away even when I don't want to." She hiccupped in response and he pushed on. "And I do it terribly well."

"Go away!" She cried, for once uncaring of his feelings. "I've done everything you wanted and all you do is get angry! What do you want from me?" He was quiet and she continued to cry. "Go away, Gold. Just leave me alone."

He reached up to comfort her but drew back when he was halfway there. "I'll call Ruby and have her come over." He said quietly, understanding he wasn't welcome near her right now.

"I don't want to see Ruby!" She snarled so nastily that he paused as he went to get up. The last thing she wanted, other than him being here, was to have Ruby somehow turn this into an 'I told you so' moment about her choice in husbands.

"I'm not leaving you here alone like this." He told her. "You're about to shake yourself apart."

"Get out!" She shouted on a sob, even more upset that she had lost all control in front of him.

Slowly, he sat back down and enraged her further when he wrapped his arms around her tentatively and tried to pull her into a hug after setting his cane to the side. She shoved at him roughly as she cried, but he refused to be deterred. He was also stronger than he looked and managed to pin her against his chest without much trouble. She shoved at him again, wiggling, but he clamped one of his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin. Lifting his other hand he began to rub her back the way he had when she was sick. "Calm down, dearie."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She snarled.

He wasn't put off by her sudden and out of character hostility. He kept rubbing her back gently. "I'm sorry." He said again. "I didn't want to hurt you." He told her. "I'm not used to anyone fighting back when I get started." He held her firmly so he could speak into her ear, being sure she could hear him. "It was a cruel thing to say." She tried to push him again but he caught her arms and tucked them against him as well so she couldn't shove at him anymore. "I know you miss your father." Another hard sob hit her and he moved his arm so he was holding her waist and arms and could return to rubbing her back. "Things will get better, Belle."

"No they won't." She cried, giving up on getting away. "Everyone keeps saying that and it feels just the same as it did when he died."

He sighed heavily. "I promise they will." He told her as his hand moved to her neck and began to rub her soothingly. She wasn't even remotely convinced and he could tell she was sure. He cooed at her gently and began to rock her a little. "I promise it'll be all right." Hearing that, what she needed to hear even if she couldn't believe it had her slumping fully against him. He adjusted her with surprising ease and began to soothe her with his hands, which was apparently much easier for him than trying to do so with words. Still, he recognized what finally had her submitting to being comforted. "It's all right, Belle." He said again.

After that he simply let her cry herself out, which took a considerable amount of time. However, he didn't try to rush her and sat on the cold tile floor with her for at least an hour and a half, holding her securely against him. Finally, utterly exhausted, she sat slumped against him silently. The tears had finally stopped and those horrible hitching breathes had passed, although her chest ached from them. Reaching up he pushed her hair out of her face, putting it carefully behind her ear. She said nothing, and didn't fight the touch this time as she let her weight rest against him.

When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything he kissed the top of her head affectionately, tenderly. "Let's go home." She didn't particularly want to go back to his house with him. Not that she had anywhere else to go, but she rather thought she could spend one night here while she gathered herself back together. As if he could read her mind he continued. "I'm not going to let you sleep in the library. Come on now."

Sitting away from him when his arms finally slid away she rubbed at her cheeks impatiently and got up as he did. She didn't want him to have to help her up. He picked her bag up for her and handed it to her. She took it without a word, refusing to look at him, and he led her out of the dark building silently. She saw his car next to hers and he indicated it. "I'll take you home."

"I can drive myself." She told him before walking to her car and getting back in it. He didn't say anything to that and she pulled out of the parking lot before he even managed to get into his car. She got back to the house before he did, which was no surprise with the small head start she had, and simply went up to her room. She didn't bother to turn on the light, she simply went to her bed and curled up after kicking her shoes off. No sooner had she gone still than she heard him come in the house. Trying to ignore his presence completely she hugged her pillow to her chest and turned so her back was to all the doors in her room.

A minute later she heard him going into his own room. He moved around for a few more minutes before he went to the door separating them and knocked lightly. "Belle?" She didn't move or say anything, wanting him to go away. He wasn't put off by her silence and knocked again. "Dearie, can we talk before you go to sleep?" She was still for another moment before getting up. Walking over to the door she reached out and snapped the lock decisively in place to keep him out before turning around and going back to her bed. She had no desire to talk to him at all. She heard him sigh quietly at the nonverbal negative response. "In the morning then."

Fat chance of that happening. She was more than upset by what he said, which hurt far more than she could say, she was now fully mortified. No one but her father had ever seen her cry before and she resented the fact that he had walked in on it when he hadn't been invited. Trying not to think about it she hid her face in the blankets, exhausted and beyond upset. It didn't take long for the exhaustion to win out and she fell asleep, nightmares plaguing her throughout the night.

The next morning when she woke up it was late, and she was sure the only reason she came out of her rest was because she heard the muffled sound of Gold talking to Bae downstairs. Glancing over she saw it was nearly eleven in the morning and groaned miserably. She really didn't want to deal with yesterday at all and was both terribly angry and humiliated at once. Getting up reluctantly she dressed and pulled her hair up into a ponytail so she didn't have to deal with it. Going into the bathroom she washed her face. She was pale all over, but at least her eyes had lost their puffiness and her nose wasn't red anymore.

Taking a deep breath she gathered herself and left the bathroom quietly. Getting her purse out of her room she walked downstairs and into the kitchen where they both were. Bae was eating a sandwich and Gold was sipping at some tea as he looked distractedly out the backdoor. She could tell the teen knew something was wrong with the way he kept shooting looks at his father, and was only further alerted when she walked in looking like hell. She didn't bother to acknowledge Gold at all. "I'm surprised you're back so early." She said to Bae. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah." He said after swallowing quickly. "Marco's dad showed us how to build a ship in a bottle. It was cool."

She tried to smile, although she knew she failed miserably. "That sounds fun. I always wondered how that worked." She spotted a piece of paper beside him and moved to it, seeing he had made her a list. "Is this everything?"

"Yes, thank you, Belle." He said appreciatively, shooting a sidelong look at his father.

"You're welcome." She said as she folded the list and put it in her bag. "I'll be back in a bit."

Russell tried to wheedle in, no doubt trying to make up for last night somehow. "Would you like company?"

"No." She said with what she hoped was no bite to her voice. Without further comment she left, shutting the front door behind her quietly. Hours later she returned, having stayed out for as long as possible. When she came back Bae helped her carry in the groceries and told her his father had holed up in his office to do paperwork. She felt bad then, knowing Bae had been on his own as they sulked like children, and tried to make it up to him. "What do you want for dinner?" She asked. "I could order out if you want."

He didn't look at her as he emptied bags. "You got in a fight with dad didn't you?" She grimaced and he got his answer. "It was because of me wasn't it?"

She looked over at him as she shut the fridge, having put the milk away. "Because of you?"

"Killian never wanted me home either."

His thought process immediately alarmed her. "I'm not Killian." She told him firmly. "The fight had nothing to do with you." Which she was nearly positive was true. She had no idea what was really going on with Russell, but she was sure the argument she stopped wasn't the real issue. Bae wasn't convinced and she pushed on. "Your father and I have plenty of things to fight over that don't include you in any way. I like having you here. I like having you here with your father, and I like having both of you happy together."

"Really?" He asked, still unsure.

"Really." She promised. "People fight sometimes." She felt tired all over again. "But it has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry you thought that it did, and that it upset you."

Bae relaxed a little, although he had been hiding his anxiety so well she barely saw the difference. "I don't want to be in the way."

"You aren't." She told him firmly. "You belong here. This is your home now. You can't be in the way here."

He handed her a box of cereal he unpacked shyly. "No one ever wanted me to live with them before."

She took the box and bopped him lightly on the head with it. "Russell did. He always wanted you. Things got a bit mangled is all, which happens more than anyone would like." She lowered the box and met his eyes. "He fought really hard to get you at the start, before I met him. He told me that before you came."

"He did?" Bae asked in surprise.

"Of course he did." She told him truthfully. "It killed him that he never got to see you."

"Oh." He said quietly.

"You mean everything to him." Bae was simply watching her. "Do you know how long it took me to get a real smile out of him? Almost three months. It only took you an hour and that was with you scaring him out of his mind." Bae absorbed that. Still, she wanted to be clear about things. "He loves having you here. I want you here too. Don't think that I don't. Okay?"

"Okay." He agreed. Feeling a bit better about life now that the teen was settled they went back to putting the food away. Ten minutes later they were done and he spoke again. "Can we have lasagna?"

"Sure." She agreed, getting the things out to make it. "It'll take a few hours to bake."

"That's okay." He assured her. "It's really good."

She pulled out a pan to cook the meat in and a dish to make it in. When she set it down she surveyed him critically. "Do you want to learn how to make it?"

That threw him into an immediate panic. "You want me to cook?"

She huffed out a laugh. "I want you to learn how. I don't want you to move out on your own and not know how to boil water."

"Erm…"

"It's not hard." She told him. "And you might like it. If you don't at least you won't starve a few years down the road and you can impress the girls."

"All right." He said warily, but she wasn't sure if he was more concerned over making food or the idea of cooking for a girl.

"Don't sound so excited." She said with twinkling eyes. He sighed and with that she started to teach him patiently. It was certainly a far better use of her time than thinking about last night, or fretting about eventually getting cornered by Russell.

Author's Note: I know, I'm just dragging it out aren't I? You know you love it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

He had rarely felt so guilty in his life, and he was a man who had often felt it. It hardly helped that he had started this either, and with absolutely no provocation on her part either. Oh, deep down he knew her stopping him arguing with Bae wasn't the problem. The problem was it was now late September and he knew it was only a matter of weeks before their deal was over. He couldn't stand the thought of that, of not having her here all the time. He also couldn't handle the thought of her leaving Storybrooke, and he knew exactly what she was planning. Belle, for all her cleverness, wasn't all that sneaky. He had been curious over what she was hoarding her money for with the way she resisted spending any on a car before finally giving in, but hadn't thought too much about it until he happened to stumble upon a few papers that had his blood running cold.

It had been an innocent find, not at all planned or part of his natural search for information. Bae had called from school and told him he'd left his lunch in Belle's car when she had dropped him off at school a few days ago. He had walked over to go get it so he could take it to him, and when he was grabbing it out of the back seat, using the extra key she had received with the car, he saw it. Bae must have tossed the brown paper bag in the seat when he got in, because it had knocked a folder open and scattered the papers everywhere. He had pushed the bag aside and started to tidy up the small mess for Belle when he caught sight of the header on a packet of papers. He had wrenched the small booklet out of the folder at once and thumbed through it as his stomach sank to his feet. She had already filled out the application to apply for Australian citizenship.

Slowly, he had set the paperwork back in the folder and left with his son's lunch. He had been in a knot of anxiety and desperation since he realized what she was doing. Belle wasn't just planning on leaving his house, or even Storybrooke. She was going to move to the other side of the world. He would never see her again. The thought sent bolts of dread straight to his heart and he knew he had to say something or he was going to loose her forever. The fear was motivational; he'd give it that if nothing else. He'd been working his way up to it for two days before he started that fight. What happened that morning hadn't really bothered him, only made him feel slightly sheepish over starting in on Bae when it wasn't his son that had upset him to begin with. It was his own fault for letting this sit for so damn long.

When Bae had asked if he could spend the night over at August's house later that afternoon he had given him permission at once, thinking that was the perfect opportunity to talk to her. When he had stepped out of his office when he heard her come in the house he had fully intended to ask her to stay here with him. But instead of telling her he wanted her to stay, that he wanted her here, that he was fully and completely in love with her, he became the beast everyone in town claimed he was. One look at her tired, welcoming smile and every insecurity he had ever had about himself and his relationships roared to life. There was no way she would ever stay, ever want him, to be with a reclusive, ugly man for the rest of her life when she could easily find so much better. The fear in him leapt up and began speaking with no regard to what the rest of him wanted. If Belle wanted to leave, to find a whole new life, he would make it easy for her to go.

And of course, being Belle, she had fought back when he went at her. The girl had never once backed down from his temper, had never been afraid of him, so why he thought she would do so now was beyond him. No, she had thrown herself full force into the fray, no doubt feeling justifiably attacked. That, of course, only made his insecurities that much more real and he lashed out brutally, aiming directly at her soft spot to make her stop talking, to stop that damn insight of hers. It had worked… Of course it had worked. He knew very well it would work. The moment it did all he wanted to do was take it back, would have traded the small fortune he had made himself to take it back. The look of desolation on her face, of hearing confirmation of what he was sure was her worst fear, made him hate himself. He had hurt her, hurt one of only two people on the entire planet that he loved, one of the few people in his entire life that had wanted to befriend him, and he'd done it on purpose. Then she had left. She had left the way he was so afraid she would, and it had completely been his fault.

In a full-blown panic ten minutes after she walked out he abandoned all pretense of not caring and went after her. She wasn't hard to find. There were really only two places she would have gone and since she never seemed comfortable with sharing her pain he correctly guessed she hadn't gone to the inn. He found her at the library easily enough. He'd made a copy of her key months ago and it was no trouble getting inside. It wasn't hard to work out where she was hiding either, he could hear her crying when he was three feet inside. Hating himself all the more at that sound he cringed before creeping forward. When he saw her huddled on the floor in front of her books sobbing because of what he'd done he was sure he had never disliked himself more than he did at this moment.

Wanting nothing more than to fix it he had tried to calm her down as he apologized no matter how much the sight of a crying woman scared him. Belle apparently did not want to be calmed down, least of all by him, which she made very plain as she screamed at him to go away around her body shaking sobs. Aware that he had caused this he could think of nothing else to do other than getting her in a better state of mind to fix it. Since he was not helping to achieve that at all he thought perhaps another person was needed. He had offered to get Ruby, willing to be berated and harassed by the other woman if it meant Belle would feel better, but that suggestion was met with as much vehemence as she had toward him. Confused by that he didn't press the issue, although it was clear something was wrong.

Unwilling to leave her alone like this no matter what she said about it he sat down with her. Ignoring her attempts to push him away, literally, he did his best to sooth her. He knew better than anyone what he'd said had been a lie, and he told her that. Belle wasn't even remotely convinced and he didn't know how she could have held this in for so long. It certainly wasn't healthy and she shouldn't be grieving as much now as she had been sixteen months ago. However, Belle wasn't one to lie about anything, let alone something like this. Holding her against him he let her wear herself out as she wept. With the way she was sobbing he wondered if she had allowed herself this at all after her father passed. At least she stopped fighting him after a minute or so and allowed him to comfort her.

She cried for a long time, long enough to scare him, and when she finally did stop he wasn't sure if she was really done or if she didn't have the energy to keep going. He suspected it was the later because she had a disturbingly blank expression on her face, as if her soul had floated away for a little while and left her body empty behind it. He had tried to bring her back to the present, tucking her hair out of her face. After a few minutes when she was as disconnected as she had been he thought it might be best to get her home so she could lie down. She agreed to that without a fight, but refused to let him help her. She drove off too quickly for him to protest and when he finally got back to the house she was already up in her room. Knowing it would be better to settle this before they went to sleep he had tried to talk to her and she made her feelings about him more than clear when she locked the door between them, being sure he heard exactly what she did.

Things didn't get any better the next day as she barely acknowledged him before leaving to go grocery shopping. Positive that he had now ruined any chance he had at all he crumbled inside. Unable to even keep his attention on his son, who normally made him feel better about anything and everything, he went to his office in an effort to get himself together because he suspected he was as close to a breakdown as she had been last night. Hours later, when he was convinced she was never coming back, he heard her return. Afraid to send her running again he stayed in the office hoping she would get comfortable in the house again. He had every intention of staying out of her way for the rest of the day to let her anger cool until he heard the sound he least expected. He heard her pretty, honest laughter.

Unable to resist going to see what had prompted such a shift in emotion he left his office and went to the kitchen. What he found was not what he was expecting. Bae was covered in marinara sauce from the top of his curly haired head down to his once white socks. He had no idea how to get stains like that out of clothes, but wasn't overly bothered by that when he saw how much fun his son appeared to be having trying to cook. Belle was watching him layer the dish meticulously with real amusement when he entered. It became clear what had made her laugh was Bae's good-natured complaining about her making fun of him. It was easy to see why she was teasing him. His son was such a terrible perfectionist, something he no doubt got directly from him. He was nearly obsessing over getting all the layers perfectly even and all with the same thickness. He had discovered he had to break the large, flat lasagna noodles to get them to fit in the pan properly and Bae was having a fit because it was impossible to snap them evenly.

"What are you two doing?" He asked in what he hoped was a normal conversational tone.

Belle answered without looking at him, trying to be civil and punish him all at once. It was an effective technique. "Teaching Bae to cook."

He eyed his son as he joined in on the lighthearted teasing. There was no need to get Bae involved in their problems. "It appears the food is winning."

"Oye!" Bae defended staunchly as he looked up from spreading out another layer of sauce, the spoon he was using dripping sauce on his pants. "I'm trying to make it properly!"

He huffed, bemused by this small venture, and went about putting a kettle on the stove. Perhaps the tea would calm his nerves. "As you say."

Bae gave him an incensed look before going back to his task. When Bae was done he took his hands away with near theatrical drama. "Now what?"

Belle instructed him patiently. "Set the oven to three hundred and seventy five degrees." He turned around and did that. "Now put tin foil over the pan as tight as you can." Bae did that quickly and with little trouble. When he was done she checked to be sure it was on tightly enough before nodding. "All right. Set it in the oven and set the timer for an hour." He put the dish in and set the timer after some trial and error, having never used the stove here before. When he got it, refusing help, she continued. "Once the timer goes off you take off the foil and let it bake another thirty minutes. That lets the cheese melt and bubble up the way you like."

"Cool." He said as he looked through the window of the oven. "Can we make garlic bread to go with it?"

"Sure, but we should wait until there only fifteen minutes left on the lasagna so the bread is warm when it's done." He nodded and she went on. "Why don't you go change and I'll clean up?"

"All right." He said agreeably. "Thanks, Belle. That was fun."

"I thought you would like to learn." She told him as she slid off the stool she was sitting on and began to gather up the dishes. "I'll have you trained to be my sous chef in no time."

Bea grinned at her and left the kitchen to go change clothes. He watched him leave, amazed at how easy and natural the relationship between Belle and Bae was. He hadn't expected that no matter how he had assured Bae that he would like her. As soon as his son was out of earshot he spoke quietly as she was rinsing the dishes before setting them in the dishwasher, knowing the longer this sat between them the worse it would be. "Would you like tea?"

"No, thank you." She said, her back fully to him.

He shifted his weight uncomfortably, the icy politeness getting under his skin as she no doubt intended. "You didn't need to teach him that."

She set the things in the dishwasher with more force than was fully necessary. "Have I interfered with your parenting again?" She asked sarcastically. "Should I leave the cooking lessons to you as well and let you teach him the fine art of making turkey sandwiches?"

He supposed he deserved that. "I meant it was kind of you to take the time to do that." She said nothing to that as she wiped the counter off quickly. He sighed, knowing he was making no progress. "I don't want to fight, dearie."

"Could have fooled me." She answered.

He pressed his lips together as he gripped his cane. "I know you're still upset-"

"I'm not talking about this." She cut him off. "It doesn't even matter."

"That's a barefaced lie." He answered, somehow keeping his composure. "If it didn't matter I wouldn't have found you sobbing in the library."

"I didn't ask you to follow me!" She hissed quietly as her head whipped around. "And it case it wasn't clear last night, I didn't want you there!"

He suddenly realized it was more than the fight she was angry over. "What's really bothering you, Belle? That we had a fight or that I saw you feel something that matters?" Her eyes flashed blue fire and she was about to jump down his throat for that when she heard Bae coming back down the stairs. Shutting her mouth she returned her attention to her cleanup and he went quiet, not wanting to fight in front of Bae either, but also unsure of how to proceed. It was one thing to apologize about what he said, and as much as he hated to admit it at this point he was very close to resorting to groveling, but responding to this was different. He didn't know what to do about having seen her cry. He wasn't sorry for that, as uncomfortable as the tears had made him. He had never been good with crying women, but he could comfort when he needed to. He had never dealt with someone who needed comfort but refused to have a part of it.

He knew he had been too long by himself, but he still remembered what it was like to be part of a family, and with Bae back it was easier to be that man again even if he had mucked the whole thing up royally. He needed to get her back into the mindset of being part of his family to prevent her from running. If she thought she was alone she had no real reason to stay, and he wanted her here. So instead of pressing her as he had initially been planning he took a different approach. He waited for her to get too tired to be angry with him anymore. Unlike him the girl wasn't good at holding onto rage. Where he could sit and stew over something for months, if not years, she disliked the way it made her feel. Belle was too good a person, too sweet a person, to be comfortable being angry all the time. He was good at patience, good at waiting people out, so he fell back on that as he tiptoed around her when they were in the same room. He knew setting her off again would only make this take longer so he was very careful with her, treating her with as much care as he did with his precious antique ceramic cup she'd chipped.

It took three days. He would have waited another day to be sure, but as she had stopped sleeping completely and lost all interest in food on top of it, he didn't dare try to wait her out any longer. Waiting until he was sure Bae was asleep he went downstairs to the parlor where she kept retreating at night. He stood back in the shadows as he scrutinized her through the entryway. She was sitting in her favorite spot on the couch, curled up into the corner of it as if it could protect her from something. Too tired even to pretend to read she sat there with the small table lamp on and stared blankly at the knickknacks in one of his glass faced cabinets. He doubted she was very interested in the small part of his collection, but she sat there staring at it all the same. Stepping into the room he knew she heard him, but made no indication that she saw him as she let her head rest on the back of the couch, her legs tucked under her.

Approaching her slowly so as not to send her into retreat he sat down beside her and set his hand on her back. When she didn't move or tell him to stop he began to rub her gently. She closed her eyes and stayed still. He took that as a positive sign. She hadn't been avoiding him, but she hadn't allowed him to get within four feet of her either. That she was letting him touch her now was a good thing. He kept himself kind for her, knowing that was all that would help. "You've got to be tired, dearie." She nodded, her eyes still closed as she silently admitted to it. "We need to talk."

"Why?" She asked quietly. "There's nothing to say."

There was a great deal to say, more than she knew. He kept rubbing easy circles over her back to keep her calm and them connected. He didn't want her to feel alone while they talked about this, because it was sure to be unpleasant. "You don't need to try to hide so much."

"No one wants to hear what's the matter." She told him honestly. "That's why people pay for a therapist."

"I want to hear." He told her gently.

"You want me to go away." She said.

"No." He said, his voice strained. "That's not what I want."

"Yes it is. I'm in the way now that Bae's here. If you just get the paperwork for the divorce I'll sign it and go."

"That's not what I want." He repeated again, his voice almost breaking. "I'm sorry about what I said. Truly, I am. I never wanted to hurt you that way and I never should have said those things to you. None of it was true."

"It was all true." She said brokenly. "Except the part about interfering with your parenting. You were just being an ass about that."

He almost smiled at that. Leave it to her to be sure he knew which parts of the argument she still disagreed with. "I think it's safe to say I was an ass about everything."

She let out the smallest little smile for a moment at that and he relaxed ever so slightly. If she smiled she was likely ready to let him apologize. "I am sorry, dearie. You didn't do anything to deserve that. Will you forgive me?" She nodded again and he felt his insides loosen a little. That settled, at least for the most part, he went after the next thing. "You need to let yourself grieve, Belle. That's why it still hurts so much. That's why you still can't sleep."

"I have."

"You haven't." He told her gently. "Why won't you let yourself?"

He felt her begin to tremble under his hand. For a long second she said nothing before surprising him with an honest answer. "I don't want to think about him that way. I don't want to imagine him sick the way he was and that's all I can think about when I remember him."

Hoping this was going to lead to her processing this at last he rubbed her back for another second before wrapping his arm around her waist and sliding her over until she was sitting right up against him. He kissed the side of her head and cuddled her against his side. He could tell by the way she reacted that she hadn't been expecting this, but she didn't seem bothered by it. "Do you think that's what he would want?"

"No." She said, her body hitching.

He twisted her around a little more so she was tucked against his chest instead of the corner of the couch. He wasn't sure if he was shocked when she buried herself against him or not, but she was accepting the reassurance and security he was offering her all at once. As she hid against him, trying to escape from her pain, he relaxed back into the sofa and reached up to stroke his hand over her hair. "Then why is that what you keep thinking about?"

"Because I should have taken him to the hospital when I saw all the blood." She was crying again in an instant. "But he didn't want to go even though he hurt so much. I didn't know what to do and I did the wrong thing."

He had no idea why there had been blood, and apparently a great deal of it, but for the moment didn't address that. "You didn't do the wrong thing." He told her as he hugged her and kissed the top of her head, very sure that was true. "People get sick. You didn't cause him to get cancer. It isn't your fault that he was in pain, and it isn't your fault that he passed away."

"It was." She cried, trying to cover her face. "I told him to go. I couldn't stand to watch him hurt anymore and then he died an hour later."

Christ almighty. No wonder she wasn't sleeping well. "It's not your fault, Belle."

"I didn't know what to do." She wept, trying to explain it, to justify why she hadn't taken her father to the hospital as if she were on trial when he required no justification. He knew Moe had been sick, knew what kind of cancer he had, knew he had most likely lived longer than anyone had any reason to expect. There was nothing she could have done to save him. Even if she had taken him to the hospital he most likely would have died that day. And if he hadn't there was no way he had more than another day or two at the most. "And there was no one there to help me or tell me what I was supposed to do. I made a mistake and he died."

"You did what you were supposed to." He told her. "Love, there was nothing else you possibly could have done. You did everything right." She kept crying and he guided her arms around his neck so she could hold onto him. Her arms tightened at once and he shifted a little so he could still breathe with her clinging to him so tightly. "It's not your fault something bad happened. All right?" She nodded into his chest and he really hoped she believed him. "You need to believe that. I'm sorry you were by yourself, that shouldn't have happened, but you aren't by yourself now."

"I don't have any other family." She wept. "He was all I had left."

He kissed the top of her head. "Not all family is blood." He told her quietly. "You have family here in Storybrooke." She shook her head in denial. "You do." He insisted. "You have Ruby and her grandmother." He watched her before taking a plunge. "And you have Bae and I." He said softly.

"This is all fake." She told him. "And I have to leave soon anyway."

No, no she didn't. "It's not all fake." He told her honestly. "And considering our deal was completely illegal and we're the only ones that know about it I don't think anyone is going to hold us to exact dates and times but ourselves." He caressed her soothingly. "You can stay here as long as you want."

"I'm in the way." She said, although he noticed a definite decrease in how hard she was crying as soon as he told her that.

"You're not in the way." He told her as near elation filled him. He could tell he was managing, by some miracle, to keep her here with him longer.

"You're just saying that because I'm crying." She said as she tried to stop doing just that. "You're awful with crying."

He ran his hand through her hair, bemused she had noticed that even with as upset as she was. "I'm saying that because I'm afraid Bae and I might starve if you leave."

She hiccupped a laugh between the small sobs and promptly moved one of her arms from around him and punched his shoulder lightly. "You're a horrible person." She told him as he grunted from the impact, although there was only amusement in her since she knew he was teasing.

"I know." He told her as he kissed her head again as he tucked her back against him as she went back to hugging him. "You like me anyway."

"Do not." She said, sniffing as her crying began to peter out completely.

"Do too."

"Fine, I do." She said as she tried to catch her breath.

Turning his head he set his cheek on the top of hers as they sat there. "You're part of my family now, and not just because we both signed a piece of paper." She sniffed for a few more minutes before calming fully down and he was content enough to sit here with her as she absorbed that. Slowly, her body stopped shaking and she relaxed fully into him, eventually going slack against him. Reaching up he rubbed her cheek comfortingly and she took a deep breath, melting further against him.

"You aren't who I thought you were." She told him quietly. "I'm glad."

Unsure of what to say to that he stopped stroking her long enough to grab a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them. Her eyes came open at the feel of the material, but she didn't move away despite the silent indication that they were going to stay like this for a while. As her mind turned over whatever it was turning over he spoke, hoping to get her away from dark thoughts of anger and loss. While he was waiting for her to loose some of her anger over the last few days he had come up with a more material apology in the hopes it would soften her toward him a little more. Now seeing that he didn't need it, and half convinced it would have backfired if she was still angry with him anyway, he offered it up to her. "I thought we could go on a bit of a holiday next weekend."

"What?" She asked, tilting her head up to see him.

"It's a three day weekend and Bae's never been to Boston." He continued, his hand running down her back again. "Do you want to get out of Storybrooke for a few days? I know you have Monday off too. It's a public holiday."

She was genuinely surprised by that invitation. "You want me to come with the two of you?"

"Yes." He said, worried she would say no.

She put her head back on his shoulder. "I'd like that. What are we going to do while we're there?"

"What do you want to do?" He asked as his fingers caressed down her back.

"I don't know what Bae would like." She told him.

"I asked what you wanted to do. Bae is lucky enough to come along with us." She chuffed and he smiled. "Well?" He prompted.

"I always wanted to go whale watching." She told him honestly. "I think they have tours for it in Boston."

"That's a good idea." He told her, having never done that himself. It wasn't something he would have thought of either, but he suspected all three of them would enjoy it. "I'll call about it tomorrow."

"Okay."

He hummed in reply and went still. Unsure of what she was thinking he was quiet too. He was glad the fight was over, and was beyond grateful she had forgiven him for what he'd said. It chaffed at him horribly, hurting her the way he had. But oddly, now that it was over he felt closer to her than he had before. And as bad as it had been the fight itself had only strengthened this unexpected bond they had formed. He doubted she ever would have shared her thoughts about her father if that hadn't happened. She needed to talk about that. She needed to start to really process it. So he let her start to do that as he held her securely, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere that was such a pleasant change from the tension and hostility of only a few hours before.

"Do you think you can sleep now?" He asked softly about fifteen minutes later when she was limp and more than half asleep on his shoulder, her arms having loosened as she relaxed. He would have been more than happy to allow her to use him as a pillow all night, but he wasn't sure how she would feel about that. She nodded groggily, closer to sleep now than she had been in at least three days. When she dragged herself up he cupped her face gently and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. She looked utterly lovely watching him with her big, blue, sleepy eyes. Leaning in he kissed her forehead softly. "Let's go to bed, dearie, you've been awake long enough."

She watched him for a moment as they sat there before catching him off guard. Without a word she leaned forward and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry about what I said too." Having not expected an apology from her, he wasn't sure quite how to take it. Yes, she had said things that had been both perceptive and cutting, but only in way of self-defense. He also couldn't recall a time in any relationship where he would have also gotten an apology after something like this, something he started.

"I think I deserved that." He told her, wrapping his arms back around her.

"No one deserves to feel bad." She told him softly as she held onto him. "Even if you did start it."

He rolled his eyes. "That's very sweet of you." He said dryly and felt her smiling against his neck. He rubbed her shoulders. "It's all right."

"Really?"

"Really." He assured her before turning his head and kissing her temple. "Now, it's time for bed before you pass out." She nodded again and sat back, her hands slipping off his shoulders and resting on his upper arms. He pulled the blanket off of them and then out of her reach before she could try to fold it. "Leave it. It'll still be unfolded tomorrow for you to tidy up."

She gave him a look and he was pleased to see his Belle back again. She got up and he followed after her. She waited for him and when he was up some small spark of bravery caught in him. Reaching out he caught her hand with his free one and she froze for half a second before tightening her fingers around his. They walked upstairs together and then into his room silently. When they were at the door separating their bedrooms she squeezed his hand. "Goodnight, Russell."

"Goodnight, Belle." He said as she padded into her room quietly and shut the door between them. This time the sound of the lock never came and the last of the knots in his stomach loosened. Going to his bed he laid down under the blanket, wishing his bed were as warm as Belle was and trying to work out just how to get her in it with him.

Author's Note: Wow, I got some awesome reviews for my last chapter! Thanks everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Sitting out on the deck their hotel suite had he handed Belle a glass of wine as he sat down beside her on one of the comfortable patio loveseats. She was looking out over the harbor with pleasure as Bae sat across from them on an equally cushioned chair with some sort of electronic game in his hand. He was hitting buttons excitedly with all his attention on the device as it beeped at him with as much interest in the sight of the harbor at night as he suspected any teenaged boy would have. Of course, he hadn't gotten them a suite at this hotel for his son. "Thank you." She said as she took it, clearly pleasantly startled by the treat. She didn't drink very often, and the last time they'd had wine was at his birthday so many months ago. However, he had at least worked out that she liked whites and had easily accommodated that with help of the hotel staff. It was amazing how eager people were to please a customer that could afford the presidential suite.

He nodded as he settled himself, eyeing the red colored game in his son's hands. "What is that?"

"A 3DS." Bae told him distractedly as he suddenly tilted the thing, and his entire body along with it, ludicrously and hit one of the buttons rapidly.

"A what?" He asked Belle, having lost all his son's attention to the game.

"It's a gameboy." Belle told him. "That's what they look like now."

He raised his eyebrow. He had never found video games overly interesting, although he knew they were incredibly popular. They were too noisy for him, and frankly if he wanted something to distract himself with he'd just as soon read a book. He also didn't sell them in his shop and so had little knowledge of them short of seeing them advertised on television. He didn't know of anyone that sold them in Storybrooke. You had to order them online and have them shipped in like most of the electronics people had there, that, or pick them up when you were out of town. Seeing as Bae had no money of his own except the allowance he gave him, which wasn't nearly enough to afford that, he had a good guess where it came from.

"What are you playing?" He asked, curious over so many things at this moment.

"FIFA." Bae told him distractedly.

"Of course." He said, not at all shocked. His son was a football fanatic if ever there was one, and him having a soccer game was hardly surprising. He wasn't sure where the fascination came from, as no one in his family was overly interested in sports, but it was a healthy interest, and as far as he was concerned would keep him out of trouble. He should probably think about getting cable so Bae could watch matches on television this winter. He had a television, but it was so rarely used before his son came that he had it stored in a spare room. Belle never showed any interest in television, and on the rare occasions she watched a movie she simply used the DVD player on her small laptop. However, he knew they were both out of the norm, an odd coincidental quirk they both had in common, and when Bae asked he had moved the television out to the parlor for him, although for a teenager Bae didn't use it all that much either. But with the cold coming he wouldn't be able to be outside as much, and soccer season here was all but over. He didn't want him going stir crazy and he didn't expect a teenage boy to spend all his free time reading and doing homework. That was just unrealistic. He'd call about it when they got back. He knew enough about the game to follow a match without a problem, and it seemed a good way to spend time with Bae.

As he thought that the game buzzed and Bae let out an aggrieved sigh. "Bugger Spain."

He huffed as Belle sipped at her wine, her eyes on the boats and her thoughts elsewhere as they enjoyed the surprisingly warm fall evening. Having no doubt lost his game Bae got up and turned the system off. "I'm going to go to bed." He said, no doubt exhausted from being forced to get up so early so they could get to Boston before the boat left, and the busy day they'd had after that. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"What do you want to do?" He asked. For once he hadn't planned things out to the last detail. He had booked the suite at this hotel because it was the nicest one in town and he was honestly trying to impress Belle. And he had made reservations for whale watching because she had specifically wanted to go. Since Belle had never made such a direct request for something short of asking to go out to eat at Granny's so she could have a day off cooking once in a blue moon he wasn't about to deny her. And after having her so excited at getting to see a whale he was very happy he had. Now it was Bae's turn to pick.

Bae shrugged, having no idea what there was to do here, and Belle spoke up. "My computer is on the desk in the main room. The hotel has wifi. You could search for something."

"Cool." Bae said as he headed to the door. "Thanks, Belle. Night."

Belle smiled at him and he wished his son a good night figuring he would find out what they were doing tomorrow. Going inside he knew exactly when Bae went into his room after getting the laptop because the door slammed closed. He twitched and Belle smiled at something, although he wasn't sure what. Maybe she was still thinking about the whales, which had been more fun than he anticipated when she told him she wanted to go.

He had watched with apprehension as Belle leaned over the railing of the boat, looking intently down into the water. The boat was larger than he had expected, and with as many people as were on board they were lost in the crowd, something that so rarely happened in Storybrooke that it was a real novelty. He was rather enjoying being anonymous for a bit while they were on holiday. He didn't have to constantly concern himself with appearances and politics which took up more energy than he was willing to admit to. He guessed there were about a hundred people on the small ship including the crew, and he wondered that he hadn't known this was such a popular tourist attraction after living in New England for so long. He vaguely wondered how much the owner of this business made as Bae stood beside him, looking at everything with real interest, intrigued by the whole idea of whale watching. "Are we really going to see a whale, papa?" He asked curiously.

"I suspect so." He told him. The captain had been sure of that when they were boarding. Apparently a large pod of the creatures had been frequenting the bay for the last week and other boat crews had been calling in their location throughout that time. He suspected they were compensated for giving the information out to the whale watching companies, but that was only an educated guess. As he thought that Belle leaned over further, now nearly bent double to try to see into the water, and he reacted before gravity could try to play with her again. He really was starting to believe it had it out for her. Reaching out he grabbed the strap on her bag, which was slung over her shoulder and across her chest, and tugged her back upright. "Dearest, you're going to fall out of the boat."

"But I want to see one." She protested as he held her so she couldn't lean back over. He thought having to fish her out of the bay might ruin the experience for her. He had no doubt she would be embarrassed to no end.

"I think it's going to be hard to miss a fully grown humpback whale." He pointed out, refusing to let go of the strap. He had never seen her so excited before and was sure given half a chance she would try to escape him and join the whales in the water. She had been all but bouncing since they got to the docks an hour ago and he wondered just how long she had wanted to do this. He also wondered how her mind worked, because it clearly wasn't prioritizing things the way most people's did. "As they're bigger than the boat we're on."

Bae ignored him as he tried to save Belle from herself as he opened up a brochure he had picked up on the way onto the boat from the dock. He saw it had a large image of different kinds of whales laid out by size and rarity in the area. "It says blue whales are bigger."

"But they don't sing." Belle said, her eyes shining with excitement. "I always wanted to hear one sing. Like in the movies."

"Oh, yeah, that happens in _Jaws_." Bae said. "That was wicked. I had nightmares for a week."

"Why were you watching _Jaws_?" He asked with exasperation, thinking horror movies weren't the best thing for his son's mind, even if comparatively it wasn't that bad of one.

"It was on TV." His son informed him. "Do you think we'll see a shark like that?"

"No." He told him as he rolled his eyes. "There are no sharks like that."

"Yes there are." Belle informed him. "That movie was based on a real event, and as environmental protection has increased great white sharks have been inhabiting more and more areas they haven't been seen in for centuries. But mostly it's the younger one's that are moving toward the coasts of North America." He sighed, seeing he would have no help in this area. "Although I really think it was the sound track of that movie that made it scary, not the shark."

"It was definitely the shark." Bae assured her. "The music didn't tear anyone to shreds."

"I suppose that's true." Belle agreed.

"When exactly did you see this movie?" He asked, breaking into the conversation.

"I don't know. Ages ago." Bae answered as he went to the railing and slung his arms over it, leaning all his weight on the metal piping. He eyed the boy; he had now run out of hands between Belle and his cane. He supposed he could hook Bae with it should that become necessary. "I thought they would be all over the place where you lived."

"Yes, they leap upon the docks daily." He said dryly. "They have to beat them off with sticks. Huge cost hiring shark guards."

Belle laughed and Bae grinned at that. "It would have been better if the shark had looked more real though." His son continued, now fixated on the topic. "But I guess it was alright considering how ancient that movie is."

"Ancient?" He asked dryly. He had seen that movie when it came out in theaters.

"What?" Bae asked. "It's from, like, the seventies."

"Nearly prehistoric." Belle agreed, straight faced.

He sent her a look and her eyes glittered with amusement. Bae went on, unaware that she was teasing him. "But I guess whales are still pretty cool even if they won't eat the boat."

"Believe me, we would not be out here if whale's ate boats." He told his son.

"I suppose they could tip it over." Belle told him, trying to be supportive of the destructive ideas, for what reason he didn't know. "And then they would have to get lifeboats for us."

Bae brightened at that and he eyed his wife. "Stop helping, dearie."

"Aww, papa, it's fun to think about." Bae said. "That would be a great story to tell my friends." Bae began to lean out farther and he began to really question how smart a plan it had been to bring them out on a boat together. This was like trying to herd cats. "You know what would be really cool?"

"Surviving this trip without either of you drowning?" He asked. "Bae, stop leaning out so far, you're going to fall in if a good sized wave hits the boat."

"Stop worrying so much." Belle advised him calmly. "He can swim."

He gave her a look of disbelief that she wasn't worried about this. "That's true." Bae assured him, as if he didn't know that. "And I don't think the crew would leave me bobbing in the water. They'd get me." He shook his head, seeing he had somehow lost this battle and not knowing how or why neither of them wanted to survive what was supposed to be a safe family outing. "Besides, the waves are coming from the starboard side and they aren't even three feet high. The chances of me getting knocked out with that little force is pretty slim."

He shook his head slightly. "How do you know which side is starboard?"

"Killian has a boat." Bae told him. "He taught me all about it when he first met mom." His son suddenly looked disgruntled and he was sure he worked out that Killian had only worked him over to get to Mila. He didn't let it bother him for long though, which was good because he suspected that would have set his temper off. "And after you fall out a couple times it's not that scary."

"_What?_" He demanded and was reassured that Belle looked as distressed by that information as he was.

"I had on a life jacket." Bae told him, which only made him feel marginally better about that. But before he could say more about it one of the crew called out.

"Straight ahead!"

Bae leaned out farther to see and Belle escaped him when she jerked forward to get back to the railing, not wanting to miss it. He lurched after her as his arm was wrenched forward but managed to catch his balance even on the rocking ship. He moved behind Belle right as one of the massive creatures broke the surface not ten feet away from them. Bae let out a little yelp of surprise at the abrupt appearance of such a huge animal and Belle squealed happily as the animal stuck it's head up, apparently to watch them right back. Even he was impressed as he got a good look at the barnacle-encrusted mammal. No sooner had the giant slipped back under the waves than three more came up around the boat to either see what was going on or get air.

Another one came up right beside them, brushing the first as it did, and he was unpleasantly surprised to learn that they smelled about as good as the cannery on a hot summer day when they expelled air. Bae threw his hand over his nose at once. "Oye! That's rank!"

He was forced to agree, but Belle was simply charmed by the whole thing and began to giggle in delight. No sooner had the second one vanished than the first one came up again, even closer to the boat, and stuck its head up again. Belle grinned hugely and leaned out to see it as best she could. He slipped his arm around her waist to prevent her from hugging the creature and held onto the railing with his hand, pressing his cane against the bars so he wouldn't drop it. They all watched each other for a few minutes as the whales surrounded the boat, and he was intrigued that they were as curious about them as they were of the whales. Then, all at once, the animals vanished by some unspoken agreement and it was over. They had all looked out at the water for them and the girl had found his hand and squeezed it tightly in thanks as the boat turned around to head back to shore. She had a very happy smile on her face the whole way back, her head turned to where the whales had been until it was far out of sight.

The rest of the day was busy. They had left Storybrooke at about six to get to the boat on time, which meant he had to all but drag Bae out of bed at five thirty to get him ready and in the car, and the tour had lasted roughly four hours. Afterwards they walked around the harbor looking at shops and tourist attractions before going to check into the hotel. He knew they all needed to clean up before they went to dinner and when the bellhop had opened the door the suite of rooms he'd gotten Belle had looked around, dumbfounded. Bae had simply grinned before going to look around as she all but tiptoed to the glass doors of the balcony as if someone was going to tell her this was the wrong room and drag her out again. He had left her alone to absorb everything for a few minutes before chasing her into their bedroom to get ready. If she noticed there was only one bed in the room she didn't say anything about it, which either meant she had been in too big a hurry to notice, didn't mind, or assumed one of them would be sleeping on the fainting couch sitting in the corner of the room. Whatever her thought process she got herself ready as he made sure his son was presentable for the restaurant they were going to before whisking them both back out again. By the time they got home from dinner they were all starting to lag between the long day and full bellies. It was no wonder his son had thrown the towel in after sitting up for another hour.

"And where did he get a gameboy?" He asked her when Bae was out of earshot. Belle gave him a sheepish, blameless smile before hiding behind the wine glass, as if it would work as a shield against his ire. "You're going to spoil him rotten." He informed her with suppressed amusement.

"He was the only one in his class that didn't have one." She told him. "They were all playing games without him. It was very sad."

"So naturally you got him one when he asked." He said, fighting back a smile.

"All he asked was how much one was." She told him. "It would have taken him forever to save up for one."

"So then you bought him one." He stated. "When he looked at you like a sad puppy."

She jabbed at him. "He didn't look at me like a sad puppy!" She said, defending Bae far more than herself, which was both endearing and funny. "He looked at the price online and walked away!" She set her nearly empty wine glass on the table on her left. "Then I may have bought him one." He sent her a look and she continued on, brushing at her dress to get out imaginary wrinkles. "And a game… or four."

"You're the softest target I've ever seen." He told her, bemused.

"He really didn't ask for it. I didn't want him left out." She told him, and he saw her trying to fight back worry. "Are you angry with me?"

"No." He said. He didn't rightly know how he could be angry with her for treating his son so well. Belle took better care of Bae better than his own mother did, and he knew very well it was out of the goodness of her heart. There was really no way for him to properly convey how much that meant to him, that she cared about someone he loved so much for no other reason than her natural kindness.

She was relieved, he saw it even though she tried to hide it. "I promise to only spoil him a little bit." She said, emphasizing that by putting her finger and thumb close together to indicate how small an amount of spoiling she intended.

"Is that all?" He asked with a smile.

"He's too adorable not to spoil at all. And I don't think he's ever been spoiled properly before, so I don't think it'll hurt anything."

No, it wouldn't, but he was still going to tease her about it even though deep down he was intensely pleased she had taken such an honest interest in his son. "I'm going to remind you of this when he demands something crazy." He told her. She pouted at him and he smiled and reached over and caught her hand. Bringing it to his lips he kissed her knuckles lightly. "That was very sweet of you." She smiled at him and he swore she blushed lightly, although it was hard to tell in the shadowed balcony this late at night. "Did you have fun today?"

"You know I did." She told him as he held her hand, running his thumb lightly over her skin. "I really have always wanted to do that."

"No matter." He said, pleased he had managed to make her so happy. To do something for her that she had wanted to do.

Belle shifted so she was facing him on the small sofa, her legs tucked under her and brushing against his. He turned his head so he was facing her, giving her his full attention. She never seemed to mind that she had to share that now, with his son at the house, but he knew it was different than how they had been interacting when they first started getting to know one another. With Bae in bed for the night he didn't need to split his attention, and neither did she. "You went a little crazy on the hotel though."

He raised an eyebrow. While he would admit it was a bit much, it was hardly as extravagant as she thought. He wasn't sure Belle truly understood his financial situation. He was quite wealthy, and while he had a large and well-kept house in Storybrooke he could have afforded much more. But there weren't bigger houses in the small town, and he had been content enough with the one he picked. He hadn't needed more space and wasn't about to spend money to build something bigger when he would much rather have that money to cushion Bae's inheritance. The amount of time it would have taken to get exactly what he wanted had also been a deterrent. He was far too busy buying everything out to worry about a construction project.

He also suspected Belle was incapable of fully grasping the full scope of it either. While she had in no way been improvised, and Moe had taken good care of her, they had no doubt struggled for money on occasion. Never enough for her to go hungry or without clothes, but enough that she had moved into his home with only a dozen boxes of belongings, and most of those used books. She had only two items in her possession that were actually worth anything, her computer and the necklace she constantly wore around her neck. He had no idea where the jewelry had come from, but his practiced eye told him it was at least a hundred years old. She had most likely inherited the piece. That she thought he had gone overboard on their weekend holiday wasn't surprising as he doubted she had ever stayed in anything but a cheep motel before, and the slight discomfort she'd shown at dinner told him she wasn't used to fine dining either, although she'd done a good job hiding that. He thought he would very much enjoy getting her used to it the same way she was enjoying spoiling Bae.

"What's the point of working so hard if you don't have some fun at the end of the day?" He asked, tossing her the argument she'd given him months ago back at her. She poked at him for that and he grinned. "Your logic, not mine."

"You're being silly." She told him. "I was thinking more along the lines of catching a movie rather than whale watching and five star hotels on the bay."

"Then you should have been more specific." He told her as he reached up and tucked a loose curl out of her face. They did have a habit of getting loose from her ribbons and clips as if they had a mind of their own. She sent him a look and he smiled gently at her. "I think this is more appropriate a place for you than a popcorn covered movie theater."

She looked out at the view again before turning back to him. She looked bemused. "You know given enough time I would fall off this balcony."

He chuckled at that and she smiled back at him. "We could put up a safety net." He suggested. She rolled her eyes and he tickled her cheek. "I thought the view was worth the risk."

She watched him, her eyes flickering with thought. "Why did we really come to Boston?"

"Did we need a reason?"

"You have a reason for everything." She said knowingly, searching his face. After several moments she spoke, all humor gone. "How did you find out?"

"Find out what?" He asked, knowing very well what she was talking about. He didn't bother to beat around the bush, although he didn't want to talk about this at all, thinking he had delayed this discussion by at least several more months than she had given him. "That you're planning on moving back to Australia?"

She simply watched him for several seconds before speaking, although she didn't bother to ask how he had learned that. "I only came to this country because of my father. I do love staying with you, but I can't live in your house forever." Her eyes were dark with sadness. "I need a life. I need more than a job. I won't ever get that here, not after our deal is over." He felt sick to his stomach. "Less of a chance of either of us slipping up about this that way anyway. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"Belle…"

She gave him a tight smile and reached out to tug at the ends of his hair affectionately. "You have Bae here now so I don't have to worry about you being by yourself."

"Don't go, dearie." He whispered, his heart breaking. For once he didn't try to hide what he was feeling, he didn't hide his fear, or his wants. He didn't even have the heart to try to trick her into staying. "I don't want you to go."

"Why?" She asked softly, shifting closer to him. "Why don't you want me to go?"

They were teetering on the knifes edge now. There was no way around it. What he did, what he said next was going to change everything one way or another, no matter how inevitable this was. The terror in him roared to life but he managed to beat it down long enough to do the smart thing. Moving his hand off her cheek he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her across the few inches separating them, terrified this was going to blow up in his face. To his relief that appeared to be all the answer Belle needed from him, and the right answer too. The moment he began to move her she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and shifted her weight for him. A second later and she was settled on his lap and he was holding her tightly to him.

Before he had time to think of anything to say Belle leaned in and pressed her lips lightly against his. He closed his eyes at once, wanting to savor her, and kissed her back just as gently. Lifting one of his hands up he cupped the back of her neck and held her where she was, afraid she might escape him now that he finally had her. It didn't seem as if she wanted to get away though. Belle let out a little whimper of want, pressing more insistently against him, and he was more than happy to indulge her. Deepening the kiss had heat tearing through him as he tasted her. She tasted like wine and something utterly Belle. He was sure he had never encountered anything more exquisite and his head spun as she sent him into a tailspin of affection and lust.

Slowly, she broke away from him and he let her lean back a few inches reluctantly. She was panting lightly and he found he wasn't in much better condition as his chest rose and fell rapidly. He watched her, their eyes locked, and he tangled his fingers into her silky soft locks before pulling her back so he could kiss her again, unable to resist her now that he knew this was going to be even better than he imagined. Belle returned the kiss at once, eagerly, and for the life of him he couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe she had picked him, because he knew very well that was what she had just done. Finally, they had to break apart for air and he caressed her face lovingly. Leaning in she set her forehead against his and kissed him again, the touch feather light and sending shivers down his spine. "I guess I better stay if that's how you feel about it." She whispered as she tickled at his back with her fingertips.

He let out a strangled laugh and kissed her again. She smiled at him with heartbreaking happiness and he felt any defenses he still had up against her crumble away. Now fully exposed he very much hoped she would be a gentle mistress. He wasn't fully sure he would bounce back if she broke his heart as he had somehow allowed her more access to it than anyone else in his life, save his son. He really had no idea how she had managed it with the way he guarded it, but it seemed he was now helpless to take it back from her. He didn't even want to take it back from her, which scared him witless. Belle kissed him one more time before shifting so she had her face pressed against her neck and tucked her head on his shoulder.

He sat with her for a few minutes before slowly coaxing her up. It was late and they would have plenty of time to sit out here tomorrow night. "Come on, dearie." When she was on her feet he followed her and caught her hand, drawing her after him. It was warmer inside and when she shut the door behind them the sounds of the city were muffled dramatically. As he drew her toward their bedroom he felt her tensing up ever so slightly. He didn't know what exactly she was expecting, but if she wasn't ready he wasn't going to force her into anything. Still, she followed him into the bedroom and shut the door before hesitating a few feet inside. He paused when she did and she spoke quietly. "This is too fast for me, Russell."

"Just to sleep." He assured her and she followed him again when he tugged her farther into the room. Turning the lamp on next to the bed he let her go. The last thing he wanted was to scare her and he leaned down a little and kissed her cheek. "It's rather impressive that we're the only married couple on the planet that started out sleeping in different bedrooms, don't you think? That usually takes a few years of hard work to accomplish."

Her lips curled up at the corner and her brief anxiety vanished. "I should warn you I hog the covers."

"You aren't going to scare me out of sharing a bed that easily." He informed her.

Belle laughed softly and kissed him again. "You say that now." She said as she moved out of his space. "We'll see how you feel in the morning when you've died of hypothermia." She walked over to her small suitcase and began to pull things out of it. "I'll be back in a minute."

He left her alone as she went into the bathroom and changed into a pair of loose pants and a t-shirt to sleep in. By the time she came back out in her favorite pair of cotton shorts and a fitted tank top he was in bed and turned the light off again. Why she only wore pants at night was one of her many quirks and for the moment he didn't ask about it. He was too distracted by her crawling into bed with him to really care either. He held the comforter up and she moved under it and his arm without hesitation. Snuggled up under the thick comforter with him he began rubbing her back again to be sure she was relaxed. Once he had her cuddled up against his chest he found she was watching him quietly.

He shifted a little so they were both comfortable and settled so his arm was around her back. Deeply comforted with her against him the way she should be he slowly relaxed as the last wisps of his anxiety over this faded away. For once in his life everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be. Against him Belle moved a little and slid her arm up so she could rest it on his chest. Her delicate fingers began to trace nonsensical patterns over his shirt as she lay there and he almost whimpered. Clearly having everything exactly as it was supposed to be involved torture. Honestly, he hadn't anticipated that, but he supposed that was part of the fun.

Author's Note: Thanks for the continued reviews!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

She was ridiculously, insanely nervous about this. Considering she had been wanting him for months she had no idea why she was panicking now, when he made it clear that he wanted her right back. And not only had he asked her to stay, he had taken her on the nicest vacation she'd ever been on in an effort to win her over. The whole thing was beyond her comprehension because she certainly hadn't expected to be courted in such a manner. He had blatantly pampered her all weekend from the time they left Storybrooke to the time they came home again. He had been nothing but good to her even after getting into a truly epic fight with her and seeing her break down, twice. He had held her while she cried both times, something she knew very well made him uncomfortable. He had listened to her, actually cared about why she was upset and not sleeping, and soothed her guilt and fears away with patient understanding. The man had worried about her feelings and respected her thoughts. So naturally she began to panic the moment she woke up with him in Boston. Actually she began to panic as soon as she got out of bed with him, but she thought that was close enough to be getting along with.

She thought she would have slept longer as she was warm and terribly comfortable, but Bae slamming the bathroom door shut was more effective than any alarm clock she'd ever had even if his bathroom was all the way across the large hotel suite. Jolting awake in confusion had Gold sighing tiredly and dragging her back down against him under the thick comforter. "I've got to break him of that." He commented groggily as the night before came back to her in a rush. "Driving me mad."

"Too early." She complained as she hid against him, more than a little afraid that he had changed his mind about this now that he'd slept on it. She thought she had a better chance of keeping this lovely new mindset of his up if she stayed right up against him.

He hummed in agreement and when she turned over and scooted back against him he spooned around her. Relieved that he wasn't trying to chase her away as he had a habit of doing she closed her eyes and yawned as his arm settled snuggly around her waist. She was nearly asleep again when Bae banged on the door. "Oye, dad, are we going to get breakfast?"

"Yes, Bae." He called back, his voice craggy from sleep. "Give us a few minutes to wake up."

"Yeah, all right." He agreed. "Somewhere with pancakes though?"

She pulled a pillow over her head in silent protest of the noise. It was far too early on the weekend to be roused in such a manner, especially when she was being cuddled so nicely. "I think it's safe to say any place we go for breakfast is going to have pancakes." His father replied. "Now go away."

"I'm hungry." Bae grumbled, and she knew that was the only reason he was badgering them. It seemed the one thing that got the teenager grouchy was an empty stomach. At the house that was rarely a problem as she made sure there was always food. That in itself was a challenge with Bae there. The amount of food he consumed was staggering. Their grocery bill had nearly doubled since he moved in and he was never really full, grazing nearly constantly. She had adjusted to how much to buy and cook quickly, although watching him eat at meal times was a sight, one that even startled Gold on occasion and he had once been a teenage boy. A few times she had caught him looking at his son as if he was sure he was going to explode if he ate more and had hidden her smiles. She was convinced he was about to have a growth spurt herself, but time would tell. All at once though, Bae's whole attitude changed. "Can we go to the aquarium? They have one. It opens at ten."

"Yes we can. Now for the love of God give me ten minutes to wake up properly." Gold grumbled as he dragged her out from under the pillow to prevent suffocation. She heard his son walk off, most likely to get dressed. She dozed beside him for another few minutes, not really falling asleep, but not really awake either. Eventually she roused herself, very much wanting breakfast now that the idea had been put in her head even though her idea of breakfast was a cup of coffee rather than food. Besides, as much as she wanted to lay here with him all day she knew it was only a matter of time before Bae came back. When she shifted he protested silently, drawing her back to him again. "Want coffee." She told him as she flopped into the mattress, blinking at him with sleepy contentment.

In response he turned her over and kissed her warmly before letting her go. "Okay." He replied at last. Now utterly distracted she ignored his loosening grip and went back to kissing him since she could. His arm went back around her and he returned the attention at once. The novelty of so much affection all at one time had her head spinning and she hummed happily into his mouth. He stroked her face gently as they pulled apart to breathe and he watched her. She found herself blushing, and to escape her shyness she kissed him one more time before slipping away from him and out of the bed. His eyes followed her as she escaped into the bathroom and when she shut the door she made the mistake of starting to think and hadn't managed to stop since.

For the life of her she couldn't understand why any man that knew her this well, that had lived with her and knew all her bizarre quirks and oddities would actually want her. It hardly helped that he was older than her. It wasn't the age difference that bothered her, it was the experience. He had been married before and regardless of how that had turned out he'd been in a relationship for years. God only knew what other company he had found before her, not that she actually wanted to know because she was sure that would only add to her nervousness. She honestly didn't have much experience to speak of and she knew very well that he had a great deal of it. She only had two other partners, a high school boyfriend that had moved away and never come back after he got into a college across the country, and Gary. She hadn't even slept with her first boyfriend, and if she were honest she had never actually enjoyed sex the way she knew she was supposed to. Whether that was because of Gary or her she didn't know, but after hearing so much from Ruby she was clear that something was amiss.

She was terrified that she was going to be a horrible let down. She knew she should have thought about this before, but the idea that he would actually want her had been so beyond a real possibility to her that she never had no matter how much she had wanted it. Now, after he had kissed her and started sleeping beside her at night she realized this was rapidly becoming a very real inevitability. What was even more unsettling to her was that he wasn't really pushing her. Oh, he was certainly taking a very real interest in her, all but chasing her into his bed at night with playful insistence, but he hadn't done more than kiss her senseless and spoon up with her as they slept. She had no idea how to take that, and was in no way comfortable being the aggressor in this situation as she was nervous and unsure of what to do or what he wanted beyond the obvious.

And it wasn't that she didn't want him. That wasn't it at all. She very much wanted those sure hands of his all over her. She was more than happy to allow him to become her lover, to really be her husband, although that was an overwhelming thought all by itself. She was sure she would enjoy being close with him, and if his behavior so far was going to carry through was sure he would allow her to cuddle with him in the aftermath, which she would like. It was just… she was definitely going to find a way to mess the whole thing up. The thought had her in a tizzy of anxiety, and after two weeks he still hadn't tried to get any of her clothes off. She didn't know if that meant he was respecting her boundaries, or if he didn't want her, or if there were some other problem all together. The whole thing was upsetting her stomach and she knew she was getting noticeable distracted with the way she kept zoning out at the house when either Russell or Bae were trying to talk to her like normal people did.

For his part Gold didn't seem to notice that anything at all was wrong. He was treating her nearly exactly the same way he had before they came to their understanding in Boston, with the noticeable exception of a drastic increase in physical affection. Since she woke up with him that first morning he hadn't bothered to keep up any sort of pretense of distance. Gold had simply gone all in on it, which surprised her to no end. He was always caressing her back, or touching her cheek, or playing with her hair. It was all so natural to him despite his near isolation for so long that it only sent her mind into further spirals of worry. If he could do this when he was so scared of emotional intimacy then why couldn't she feel comfortable? There was clearly something wrong with her. Of course, she had noticed that she never actually troubled herself about it until she was by herself and thinking too much, but that really gave her hours in the day to do just that.

Then, finally, he noticed that something was off. Or perhaps he had been noticing and he simply picked this particular night to ask her about it. It had all started out perfectly fine, just like any other day in the last two weeks save his late arrival to bed. He had been working in his home office late on a law case he had picked up and she had gone up to bed before him, knowing he could easily be working until the early hours of the morning. Bae had gone to bed shortly before she had thrown in the towel and the house had gone quiet as she curled up on her side of his large bed. She was drifting in a twilight state between being awake and asleep when he came in.

He left the light off, no doubt thinking she was asleep, and shut the door behind him quietly. He moved around for several minutes as he got ready for bed and then slid under the blanket with her, half wrestling it away from her so there was enough fabric to cover him. She really hadn't been kidding about stealing the blankets, she had a habit of cocooning herself up in them she had developed in her childhood, and once he realized that he had turned that clever mind of his to solving the problem. He simply started curling up around her so the only way to stay fully covered was to allow the blanket to go around both of them. After the first few nights of being that physically close to someone, which was a drastic change for both of them, they both acclimated quite happily. She hadn't slept this well since before her father got sick. Now, as soon as she was tucked against him and could hear his heart beating so close to her ear she found herself slipping off in what felt like seconds.

Half asleep she turned over before he was all the way down and curled up against him at once, happy he had come to bed so much earlier than she anticipated. "Are you done?" She murmured sleepily, hoping this new commission of his was only going to take the one evening.

"Almost." He told her as he shifted her a little.

"You're working too much again." She informed him as she slipped her arm around his waist. Since Bae had come here he had actually cut his hours down to what a normal person worked. He occasionally stayed late when he had a case, but that was now the exception rather than the rule. She knew, or had at least believed that he had been working so much to distract himself, he had all but said that himself. Now that Bae was here he didn't have a reason to do that and she was beyond pleased that he recognized that his son was worth more of his time than his business. And honestly she had gotten used to having him around all evening. While she and Bae had no problem entertaining one another she could only talk about soccer for so long before she retreated into one of her books for the sake of her sanity.

"This is the first case I've had in a month." He informed her as he bent his head down and kissed her. "I'll be done with it tomorrow."

"Promise?"

He sighed good naturedly as his hand settled on her hip and turned her toward him more fully. "Yes, dearie, I promise."

"Are you just saying that to make me stop talking?" She asked between gentle kisses.

He smiled against her lips, amused she had caught him. "Possibly."

"Possibly or definitely?" She asked. "Because Bae made me watch another soccer game with him. I can't do that by myself again. It's too much for you to ask of me."

He laughed into her skin, having been pressing light, teasing kisses against her cheek while she spoke and pulled away. "I will do my very best to finish by tomorrow evening so you don't have to learn any more about the game of my people."

She smiled at him for that. "I appreciate that more than you know."

Reaching up he stroked her cheek gently as his eyes darkened. Recognizing the silent inquiry for what it was she kissed him lightly in invitation, although her insecurities roared to life. Cupping her cheek his fingers curled around her head and he pulled her mouth to his, kissing her deeply. She let out a small moan as her entire body flushed with heat despite her nervousness. The second he heard that he shifted, rolling them so she was on her back and he was propped up over her on one arm. His other hand, now free, slid down her ribcage toward the bottom of the loose t-shirt she was wearing. She had stolen it from his dresser yesterday for no other reason than she wanted to wear it. When he realized she had changed into it the night before his eyes had glittered with satisfaction as she joined him on the bed, deeply pleased with her for that, for the clear signal that she had proclaimed him as hers. Now though, his fingers brushed the fabric aside and grazed over the skin of her stomach.

Her muscles bunched immediately at the exploration. His touch was warm and sure as he ran the flat of his hand up under the soft cotton, only just firm enough not to tickle. It was really all the confirmation she needed to be sure that her suspicions about being out of her depth were true. She stilled fully below him, unsure of what to do next that he would like as her mind stumbled over itself, and certain that this was going to be disappointing for both of them as she seemed set on ruining it despite her best intentions. When he felt her freeze he stopped moving too, breaking the kiss. Lifting his head he stared down at her, his brown eyes watching her in the darkness as he took her in. He must have seen the panic, there was no way he couldn't.

"Dearie? What's the matter?" She said nothing and he kissed her lightly as he lay back down beside her on the bed. He moved his hand so it was off her, pushing the shirt back down her exposed middle so she was covered again. "It's all right. I'm not trying to rush you."

She felt awful. "I'm sorry." She whispered, mortified. "I'm bad at this."

"There's nothing bad about wanting to slow down." He assured her, misinterpreting what she meant. "Is that what's been bothering you?" Pretending that was the problem was only going to delay the inevitable, and him being sweet about the whole thing made it all the more impossible to lie about it.

"No, I mean I'm bad at _this_." She said, unable to look him in the eye as she admitted that, her fingers picking nervously at the front of his shirt. "So I don't think waiting is really going to change anything." There was a significant pause as he absorbed that and she cringed a little knowing the romance had neatly been sucked out of the situation.

"Why do you think you're bad at this?" He asked at last. When she shrugged wordlessly he ran his hand down her back the way he always did when he wanted to calm or sooth her. "Dearie, I have to tell you that you have my full attention now. You're really going to need to elaborate."

She was embarrassed beyond reason. While she realized she had opened this door she thought it a little unfair for him to ask for details. She flushed immediately, but that hardly put him off. He simply watched her as he waited for an answer. Finally she blurted it out, although it came out as stuttering blabbering. "I can't, I mean I can, but I never actually can during…" She was sure she was now bright red and it was hardly helping that he was looking at her the way he was. As if she had just told him something so out this world that he couldn't understand. "Can we stop talking about this now?"

He ignored that request entirely. "Never?" He asked, mystified.

She mumbled, unsure if it were possible to become more embarrassed. "I think I do something wrong. I don't want you to be disappointed."

"You think _you_ do something wrong?" He asked in disbelief.

"Ruby told me I'm too uptight." She really had no idea how she stumbled into this conversation. She had barely wanted to ask her best friend about this, let alone tell Gold, and Ruby was more than open about this particular subject. She now very much wished that she had never said anything and simply plunged into this, as it would have been less embarrassing.

Shifting, he faced her fully and kissed her warmly. Slowly, she began to relax as he rubbed her back gently. She vaguely realized he now had her conditioned to calm down when he did this, but found she really didn't mind. "You aren't uptight." He told her. "You're private." He kissed her again. "And neither of us are going to be disappointed." She watched him apprehensively but he wasn't worried at all as he kissed her again. When he spoke it was a predatory purr. "But you hardly need to take my word on it."

Before she could ask what that meant he had nudged her to her back again and gone back to kissing her. She let out a muffled moan as he pressed his body against hers and when he moved his lips from hers and began kissing his way along her jaw she mumbled. "Russell…" He distracted her by sucking her earlobe into his mouth and she let out a little gasp.

He released her and whispered into her ear. "Stop thinking so much. All you need to do is relax."

She thought that was easier said than done, but with the way he was reacting to her she could tell he knew what he was doing. He kissed her again, running his hands down her sides over her clothes slowly, soothing her and mapping her out at the same time. It didn't take him long to get her fully involved and within minutes she was relaxed below him, kissing him eagerly as he draped himself over her. She moaned into his mouth as his nimble fingers moved down, running over her legs. She shifted, pulling one of her legs up so he could reach it more easily. As soon as she crooked it up so it was resting against his side he ran his hand from her knee and up her thigh. Her breathing went erratic and then they were both pawing at each other as if one or the other might vanish at any moment. Odd noises began to fall out of her as they tangled against one another and his breathing became harsh and halting as he moved against her.

His hand slid higher and gripped at the very top of her thigh, his thumb brushing over the thin cotton fabric of the shorts she always wore to bed. She let out a high-pitched whimper and tilted her hips, forcing his thumb toward her center. Without a word Russell kissed her again and moved his hand up two inches and began to rub tight circles over her center. She let out an involuntary moan at the sensation and gripped at his arms. He smiled against her mouth and continued to drive her up with that steady, wonderful patience that so defined him. Stronger pleasure than she had ever received from a partner raced through her and she jerked below him, unsure if she wanted to get away from him or let him keep going. He held her where she was, not giving her a choice, and watched her face avidly as he rubbed her. She lost track of time as the sensations built up and then she snapped, or exploded, or imploded, or a combination of all three at once. Letting out a small cry she shuddered below him as her nails dug into his arms. He didn't even flinch at the scratching and kissed her as she came back around.

Panting, she lay limply among the blankets below him as her head spun pleasantly. Russell was clearly pleased with himself at getting her in such a state and lay down next to her with satisfaction written all over his face as he nuzzled at her face and neck. As she tried to catch her breath he put the blanket back over them and kissed her right under her ear. Having never felt anything like that before she tried to gather her thoughts, or her sense, or herself back together. Moving back a hairsbreadth he slid his arm over her middle as he whispered silkily into her ear. "It appears as if your only problem was a poor partner. All you needed as a better lover." She shivered as a delicious thrill ran through her as he declared himself her lover. He smirked, feeling her reaction, and relaxed into the bed.

Managing to get some control of her body back she turned toward him and snuggled up against him the way she always did at night. He hummed in welcome and she titled her head up and kissed him shyly. He returned it easily and feeling much better about this whole thing now that she knew this was not at all a problem as she thought it had been she decided to return the favor. She thought he realized what a confidence boost he had given her when her hand snuck down between them. He hissed in surprise when she began to rub him and she half wondered that he didn't expect this. Still, she was pleased enough with herself for making him feel as good as he had made her feel and went slowly in an effort to draw it out for him.

He began to pant as she stroked him over his clothes and held her tighter. He gripped her harder, not wanting her to get away, and she kissed him encouragingly. He plundered her mouth for several moments, eliciting another moan, before he surprised her by taking hold of her hips and rolling them over. She suddenly found herself on top of him and blushed all over when she realized what he must want. He caught her face with his hands and sat them up as he kissed her, her hand leaving him as she caught hold of his shoulders to keep herself steady. She pressed closer to him, wanting to be closer, and he let out a muffled groan as she straddled him, settling herself where he most wanted her. His hands slid from her face to her body as he went back to touching her everywhere he could, her clothes seemingly no obstacle to his enjoyment of her.

Now snug against him her entire body was flushed all over again and he ran his hands all the way down her back until they rested on her hips. She felt him hard between her legs as he kissed and nibbled at her neck. Her body was fidgeting with want despite the recent release, but she wanted to focus on him now. Russell must have sensed it, or at least hoped for it, because he used his hands to guide her into an easy rhythm of rocking. Feeling better with the gentle, silent suggestion of what would make him feel good she ground her hips against the hardness and he groaned and clutched at her. His kisses got harder and he bit at her shoulder just lightly enough that it didn't hurt. "Don't stop, Belle." Her head began to spin up into a cloudy fog as his voice went rough and needy, as needy as she'd ever known him to be at any rate, his brogue thicker than she'd ever heard.

He was throwing out encouragements as he pawed at her, and the in-expertise of the touch made her feel both turned on and a lot more in control than she ever thought she would be. It seemed he was right when he told her to relax about this, he was even more keyed up than she was and she was starting to suspect that until they did this at least a few times he wasn't going to have much more control than she did. Bolstered by that realization she got bolder and began to touch his chest and run her hands over his shoulders and neck as she rubbed herself over him. Even with their bottoms still on she could feel the wetness she was producing covering the fabric and the friction was lessening ever so slightly. Panting with want she kissed him roughly, falling into this with an ease that astounded her, and he bit her bottom lip as he found her breasts and cupped them in his hands. She let out a high-pitched whimper and he flicked her nipples as he thrust his hips up. "Russell." She whined pleadingly, hoping he would do something other than add to the ache that only seemed to be getting worse.

With a growl he moved his hands to her sides and flipped them again. She found herself on her back among the blankets with him snuggly between her legs. The position spread her farther open and all she could feel was soft cotton over his hardness. Clutching at his hips she tried to catch her breath but he was already moving again. He thrust himself against her desperately, mimicking what they both wanted so badly, and she began to arch up against him as he kept hitting her clit in a steady pattern. It didn't take either of them long to loose control. He couldn't have been rocking against her for more than a minute before she went off again. Her body went taut as a piano wire and she let out a small cry of completion into his shoulder. Moments later and Gold ground his hips against hers and let out a strangled moan of satisfaction.

The hardness between them surged and twitched and she felt herself getting wetter. Collapsing over her he lay panting for a moment before he turned his head and kissed her deeply. She returned it, breathless and sated. Over her, he was breathing heavily and after another moment shifted off her, his movements sluggish. After several minutes where they were both catching hold of themselves she managed to find her voice again. "I can see why people get married now."

He let out a low chuff of amusement. "And that was with all our clothes on." Blushing again she turned so her face was hidden against his chest. Still trying to fully catch his breath he curled his arm under her so he could crook his elbow and play with her no doubt mangled curls as he stared up at the ceiling. Darting a glance up she saw he had his eyes closed for the moment and thought he looked content. Reaching up she tugged at the ends of his hair affectionately, beyond happy that all her worrying was for no reason, and his eyes came open. He smiled at her softly, his eyes even darker than normal, and massaged her scalp. Letting out a hum of approval she let her hand down a little and tickled at his neck and jaw with her fingers. As she started to doze off beside him, sleepy and worn out, she decided that she certainly wanted to know how much better it could be with their clothes off.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I love them!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

He found he was having fun. He hadn't expected that. He had never expected that this would be fun. He had expected other things. Things like affection, satisfaction, and devotion all came to mind. Those were normal things for him in a relationship and reasons he had avoided getting close to her for so long. But fun? He hadn't prepared himself for that, although he didn't know why. Belle had always, somehow, managed to make him smile even when he had his mind set on anger and annoyance. It was an unsettling gift she had, to affect him in such a manner, but he was grateful for it all the same. The girl was happy, surprisingly playful, and they had a similar sense of humor. It was really no wonder at all that he was enjoying her on so many levels.

The first few weeks of this, after they got back from their trip, it hadn't been quite like this. It had been good, much better than good, and he had felt his anxiety drop considerably. He hadn't really thought Belle would stay when no one else ever had, but despite that he believed her when she said she wasn't going anywhere. Oh, he had been sure she was going to bolt on him the first few days, especially once they got back home again and she had some time to think about it, but she had made no indication that this was a consideration. Instead, she kept crawling into bed with him at night on her own accord, much to his delight.

It had been a halting, shy affair to get there once they were back. He hadn't been entirely sure how to ask her to join him in bed at home. At the hotel it had been easy. They were sharing a room and there was only one real place to sleep, he had made sure of that in the hopes it would force them together. It turned out he hadn't needed the added pressure to help him, which was really just as well. The newness of their change in circumstance helped his cause on top of the admission of devotion, and he thanked human nature for a love of novelties while they were exploring Boston. The distractions kept Belle from thinking overly much since she had a habit of doing just that when she got herself worked up over something. So for a short time he had no concern over sharing space with her. Of course, the minute they walked through the front door of the house he reverted to his normal cowardly ways and didn't invite her to join him, or even hint that he would like that. Then he became irrationally annoyed with the whole thing when he found himself all alone in his bed.

He had lain awake for nearly an hour before he heard a soft tap on the door that separated their rooms. If he had been asleep there was no way he would have heard it at all. Thanking his lucky stars that this woman was far braver than he was he got up and went to the door a bit more slowly than he could have gotten there, not wanting her to leave, but afraid to look too eager, which was utterly ridiculous but soothed his ego all the same. Bad enough he knew he was at her mercy, he didn't need to let her know it too. When he opened the door he found Belle standing there, swaying uncertainly before him. He wondered how long she had been standing here working up the nerve to knock. Unsure of what to say she stood in front of him, rocking slightly on her heels as she watched him to see what he would do now that she had shown her cards.

After a few seconds he shifted to the side so she could come in and she slid past him into his room. He shut the door behind her and the sound sent a small shiver of pleasure through him as something shifted drastically between them. He surprised her by setting his hand on her back and kissing her temple gently before heading back to the bed, taking her hand as he went as a type of encouragement.

She followed him willingly, sliding under the blankets on the other side quietly. He reached over and put his arm over her and she shifted so her back was to him. When he pulled her more snuggly to him, his arm wrapping around her and settled her against him, she moved back against him with a sigh of approval. He let out a little breath of his own and buried his face in her hair. They went largely still as she warmed up the bed and soon she was relaxed all over. "I didn't expect you in here again." He murmured honestly.

"Is that why you didn't invite me?" She asked and he heard the slightest amount of anxiety in her voice.

"Yes." He admitted quietly.

Turning her top half she stretched her neck and kissed him gently. He returned it at once and when he pulled at her hip so she would turn all the way over she didn't resist. She complied with the silent direction and when she was facing him he wrapped his arm firmly against her back to keep her in place. Reaching up she cupped his face and deepened the kiss. They stayed together like that for several wonderful minutes before he drew back slowly, kissing her face all over gently as he went. Her eyes fluttered open and he rubbed her shoulders, beyond pleased she had come to him. "That was silly." She whispered.

He watched her with a kind of fascinated curiosity. No one had ever come after him before. He had always, always been the pursuer. Why such a beautiful woman would want to start something with him was still a mystery, but he was deeply pleased she had started this all the same. He supposed it was only fair to let her know what he was thinking. "You're always welcome in here." He told her as he played with the ends of her hair. "You don't need an invitation."

She watched him bashfully at that and he moved his hand so he could tuck her hair out of her face to better see those pretty eyes of hers. "It would be nice to have anyway. It's hard to tell when you want me around sometimes."

That bothered him, that she would think that. "I know I'm not the easiest man to live with." He said quietly. "But I always want you around."

"Really?" She asked.

"Really." He promised, stroking her face again. "Even when I'm cranky."

She smiled at that, amused. "Even then, huh?" He tickled at her ribs unexpectedly and she giggled, batting at his hands in protest. "Stop that!"

He let out a chuff of laughter and pulled her back against him from where she'd wiggled away. "Are you done teasing me?" He asked.

"No, you like when I tease you."

He kissed her again for that and she smiled against his lips. When she broke the kiss she set her head on his shoulder and got comfortable against him. He had been more than happy to have her there, and not wanting to push her, or his luck, he had made no effort to do so. It didn't occur to him for several days that something might be making Belle nervous as well. He had been trying to respect her boundaries, didn't want to push when she was acclimating, but even so found her lack of increased physical intimacy a little strange considering they were sharing the same bed. After a few weeks he thought she was simply timid for some reason and tried to take the lead himself, having worked up the courage to do so over the course of several days.

When she told him what the problem was he had been flabbergasted. He wasn't even sure how it was possible for her to have never been satisfied by a partner even one time. He wasn't at all surprised that she hadn't been overly eager to let this escalate once he found that out. What an utterly disappointing experience for her, and that she thought she was the one with the issue was only more perplexing to him. But he had always been one to take advantage of situations and quickly proved to her that pleasure was more than a remote possibility when she allowed him to touch her. She had come easily and swiftly for him, which told him that not only was Gaston about as good a lover as he was an astrophysicist, she was legitimately physically compatible with him. She had also been very eager to share the experience with him and that had only excited him more. Afterwards, with Belle dozing on him, her whole being radiating satisfaction, he decided there was no reason to race into this. They had all the time in the world and there was really every reason to show her everything she had been missing out on while they worked their way up to the main event.

Having made this decision he was pleased to find that Belle was quite amenable to this course of action, though she never said that flat out. Still, he had been right when he pointed out she was private, and frankly afraid about deep feelings, which he could fully relate to. So he went slowly with her, although he was always sure she ended up in a quivering pool of pleasure before they went to sleep. She rewarded him for that, and with more than just reciprocal satisfaction. Belle had, for lack of a better term, become a cuddle bug. It amused him to no end. After so long living together she had never so overtly shown such a liking to being touched, not even with Ruby and her grandmother who she was fully comfortable with. She would infrequently hug them goodbye, but even that was a rare occurrence, as if she saved it for special occasions. However, it seemed that this new aspect of their relationship had opened some sort of door for her and she was all over him with affection.

After years being alone he found he very much enjoyed having her showing how much she liked him with such openness. And it wasn't that she was hanging on him, or getting in his way, but rather inhabiting space with him when he wasn't busy. He would be sitting on the couch and she would sit down with him and expect to be touched. Of course, the moment she was sitting beside him she would kiss his cheek sweetly and then there was nothing to do but wrap his arm around her, because of course he was a completely lost on her. And really, when everything was said and done it was normal to want to share space, especially at the beginning of a relationship when intimacy was being established. To say he wasn't reveling in it would be a lie and he was enormously pleased with everything.

His son wasn't having quite the same reaction. He was sure Bae had attached himself quite firmly to Belle, but he was also a teenaged boy. The second time he walked in on them sitting together on the couch, with her leaning on him as she read a book and him trying to read the paper around her, which was a challenge in itself, Bae had grumbled something under his breath. He glanced up over the awkwardly folded paper and raised an eyebrow when he saw his son looking at them from the doorway. Belle was so engrossed in her story that she didn't notice or hear him. Bae just rolled his eyes and wondered away as if he had found them in some horribly embarrassing situation instead of reading together peacefully in the parlor.

He let it alone, not knowing why Bae was upset over it, or if it was even them that had upset him. His son was starting to have mood swings every now and then and he was doing his best to allow him space instead of jumping down his throat about it. He didn't want to fight with his son unless he really had to and he knew it upset Belle on top of it. She much preferred when everyone got along and was more than capable of keeping peace in the house with or without their help. He rather thought she was a bully about it to be honest, but how one could be a bully about keeping others from fighting was a perplexing matter. He had been trying to work out how she was doing it for months now, because it was effective and he thought he could use it on other people if he could figure out exactly what she was doing, but so far it was unexplainable. He kept telling himself it was the hormones that were driving Bae mad and generally the episodes passed quickly. So he went back to his paper and thought no more of it. As the days passed Bae made no further indication he was bothered and a new sort of normality settled over the house.

And what a wonderful normality it was. He had never been so eager to get done with work and go home before. He had Bae now, and on top of that small miracle he also had a woman that not only enjoyed having him around, but was all out excited to have him with her. She was constant proof that he was worth caring about, and that it was worth caring about someone else. And she made it so very easy. For days now she had been nothing but open and willing to explore with him. Needless to say, he was eager to close the shop up for the weekend and was doing just that when he had an unexpected and unwelcome visitor walk in the door.

As he was setting a newly acquired vase on a shelf the bell over the door rang. "I'm about to close." He told whoever it was. They could either conduct their business quickly if it were important or come back Monday.

"Hello, Russell. It amazes me that you own a store with your temperament."

He jerked all over, nearly knocking the vase to the ground, before catching himself. Putting his mask of indifference on he lowered his arm and turned around slowly. Walking toward him with grace the likes of which he had rarely encountered Cora gave him a small, amused smile. "Cora." He said calmly, although inside he was scrambling to figure out why this woman was here of all places and times, and battling down a number of conflicting emotions. He wasn't sure if rage, fear, or curiosity was going to win out. Oh, there were other things he was feeling too, betrayal, loss, and even a hint of desire, but those were passing and hardly worth contemplating. "What a surprise."

"A pleasant one I hope." She said as she stopped in front of the counter.

He quirked an eyebrow up and hummed, refusing to commit to an answer in either direction. Truthfully, he would have preferred to never see this woman again. Why she was here was beyond him, but troublesome regardless. The last thing he needed was a former lover, a conniving one, showing up right when he and Belle were reaching an understanding. It was a delicate thing he was trying to weave with his wife and the last thing he needed was someone to purposefully start cutting at it. "Dare I ask what brings you to Storybrooke?"

"Is my daughter a good enough reason?" She asked with a cold smile.

No, it wasn't. She and Regina did not get on despite what he knew was near desperation to connect from her daughter's side. But Regina had not developed her coldness for no reason. Her mother was in the way of blame where that was concerned and he couldn't blame the mayor for such a strong impulse for self-preservation despite their many differences. "For most people." He agreed, playing with words carefully. This woman was not to be trifled with.

Her eyes glittered as she caught the jab, but she kept on as if it had never happened. She began to look around his shop with interest and he watched her warily. He knew she'd come here for a reason and was simply waiting for her to strike. After several minutes she broke the silence as she began to play with a hanging mobile. It was a pretty thing, one he had picked up several years ago, made of silver thread and crystal unicorns. He had never seen anything like it, and having done a private appraisal of the piece knew it was worth a small fortune. He wouldn't part with it for less than that, which was the reason it was still here. "Regina told me all about your exploits here. I'm very impressed." He still said nothing, knowing if he had any advantage over Cora it was patience. She would not be intimidated, and trying to out smart her was an uphill battle he didn't want to attempt unless she forced him into it. However, she was impulsive, a fault he wouldn't leave alone when on the defensive. "How much of this town do you own now? Eighty percent?"

"Ninety-three." He supplied easily.

"Your own little kingdom." She said, letting the mobile go. "Congratulations."

"Why are you here, dearie?" He asked, tired of this already, wanting her gone more than he could say.

"Can't a woman drop in on an old friend?" She asked innocently.

"We were never friends."

A provocative smile crossed her face as her eyes glittered. "No, I suppose we weren't." She moved closer, skirting the display case so she was right next to him. "But we did have fun together."

He refused to give up any ground and stood where he was, allowing her to invade his personal space. He narrowed his eyes as she hovered before him. Despite the years that had passed she was still a beautiful woman, and she clearly took care of herself. It took him no time at all to recall what had attracted him to her in the first place. A few years ago this may have been a welcome diversion for him despite their history. He easily could have fallen back into bed with her, given himself a chance to get a release and turn the tables on her, because it was easy enough to tell whatever she was here for it was her company she was offering up as her end of a bargain. "What do you want?" He repeated, his voice pitched low and inviting as he tempted the answer out of her.

"A donation."

"A donation for what?" He asked.

"With poor Henry gone it seems I've lost some of my friends." Yes, poor Henry. The man was lucky to have died if only to get away from this woman. God knows it was the only way she would ever let him slip from her clutches. She would be hard pressed to find another man in a high enough political position to suite her needs. Certainly not an age appropriate one that wasn't married. "You know how I adore my friendships."

"Most notably those that have connections to high places."

"I knew you would understand." She said seductively. "I intend to run for office you see, and need a backer."

"How kind of you to think of me first." He said dryly. "And what do I get for my troubles?"

"Other than a very loyal politician?"

"There's no such thing." He said with a cold smile.

She let out a little laugh of amusement. "Still so cynical." She chided gently. "I thought perhaps we could fall back on past relations. We would both enjoy that, we always did." She somehow snuck closer all at once. "We could seal it like we used to." Before he could do anything she was pressing her lips up against his. Startled by the move he froze for an instant before jerking his head back. In an instant he was thrown off kilter, which was no doubt exactly what she wanted. That, in turn, enraged him.

"You've come to the wrong place, Cora." He said coldly. "I'm afraid your daughter is enough of a handful to deal with. I've no interest in dealing with any politics other than the one's here."

She was less than ruffled, the gleam of success still in her eyes, which put him on edge. "From what I understand that's not entirely true."

"I've no idea what you're talking about." He informed her.

"Of course you do, Russell, dear." She said, trying to sneak close again. "Mal told me all about it."

He stilled, unnerved at once. No one should know about that except himself and Mal. He tried to bluff his way out of it. "Mal?"

She hummed. "You don't think you're the only one that keeps tabs on people do you?" She asked. "When I found out you were about to get deported I was so appalled." She reached out and straightened his tie with ease. "I was sure you were going to call me for advice about it the way you used to."

He went still as the implications of that hit him like a ton of bricks. He very much doubted she had been keeping tabs on Mal. She had the other woman call him after setting him up to be deported in the first place. She knew very well he would need help to get out of it and had set herself up to be that help after forcing him into it. She wanted his money and had every intention of getting it. Even he would admit it was a clever plan. If it hadn't been for one grieving, desperate librarian he was sure she would have already sucked most of his bank accounts dry. "I wasn't aware that I was ever in danger of being deported." He lied.

Cora wasn't remotely convinced, being nearly as skilled at deception as he was. "There's no point in playing games." She kept touching him and it was starting to irk him. "I'm very impressed with how you avoided it. I understand your fellow conspirator is quite lovely to look at. What did you give her to get her to spread her legs?"

He stepped away from her, disgusted, and half convinced she was wearing a wire to record this conversation in order to incriminate him. Cora wasn't one to let something she wanted go regardless of how she had to get it. "My _wife_ comes to my bed because she wants too. She married me because she wanted to. I assure you I had no idea my immigration status had ever come into question, although it's a moot point at this juncture in time."

Cora narrowed her eyes, the first sign since she walked in that she was irritated. "We both know why you got married. You knew."

"Prove it." He challenged with venom in his voice. "While you work on that I'll be sure to find out precisely why I was under threat of deportation to begin with shall I?" She pursed her lips, angered that he had worked this out so swiftly and with such little information on her part. "You would do well to leave now, dearie."

"I remember you being smarter than this."

"You remember me being easier to toy with." He corrected. "Twenty years is a long time. I assure you I've learned a few things since we parted company."

She watched him for another few moments before shrugging carelessly. "I can see you're cross with me. We'll talk later."

"Don't come back here, Cora." He warned her.

She simply gave him a small smile and left the shop without another word. He stared at the door she left out of as his mind began to turn and plot things with desperate speed. He knew very well a battle of wills had just begun and was already forming a counter attack. Cora would be back with a new strategy. She hadn't gotten what she wanted yet and wasn't about to give up so easily. Going to the door he locked it firmly before leaving, his mind a thousand miles away when he got back to the house. Belle and Bae were both in the kitchen as she taught him how to make some sort of soufflé. He left them to their own devices and shut himself in his office until dinner.

Distracted by Cora's visit he paid little attention to his small family that evening. It wasn't like him to act that way with them, never had been with Bae and with Belle everything had changed somewhere along the line. That she noticed was not at all surprising. That he hadn't expected her to was. When she came into their room he was looking out the window at his sleeping garden silently, leaning heavily on his cane. He glanced over when he heard the door shut softly behind him and took her in appreciatively, momentarily forgetting why he was distracted by the sight. She was wearing one of his gifts.

He had left her a carefully wrapped package on the bed in her room this morning after she left for work in the hopes she wouldn't reject it. Inside had been three beautifully made negligees. He was hoping that hadn't been overstepping his boundaries with the offering, and wasn't sure if he was going to come home to a fight or a thank you for them. He was relieved she decided to accept them and even more pleased with how she looked in this one. While he had found her sleeping in his shirts to be wonderfully sexy in its own right this was a completely different sort of thing to see. The dove grey silk hugged her small frame beautifully and the pale ivory lace that trimmed the small garment made her skin light up. With her hair tumbling in loose waves down her back he thought he had never seen anything so lovely before.

She blushed lightly when she saw the expression on his face, no doubt a cross between lust and adoration, and moved toward him. "Is something the matter?"

"No." He said at once, too quickly, and she watched him apprehensively. He had no doubt that she was recalling how nasty he could get when he was upset over something, and while he knew that didn't scare her, it was hardly pleasant to deal with and ended badly for both of them.

"I don't like when you lie to me." She said with quiet unhappiness.

He tapped his fingers over his cane, displeased with himself for that despite himself. The last thing he wanted was for this to come between them, especially when that was specifically what Cora wanted. "I apologize." He said sincerely. "I had an unsettling afternoon."

She moved closer to him, her expression open and inviting. Reaching up she began to loosen his tie with gentle, shy tugs. Such a difference from Cora's forcefully seductive and abrasive manner. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Bending his head down he kissed her deeply, his free hand going around her and pulling her flat against him. He felt as if she were slipping through his fingers, the way sand did when you tried to grip it too hard. There was nothing to do though, but hand onto her as hard as he could and hope he didn't loose her. She let out a little gasp at the sudden move and put her hands on his shoulders, pressing up against him. When he broke away, wanting her more than he could express, he answered. "No, I want to think about you."

She watched him with quiet uncertainty. "You're upset about something, Russell. You barely talked to Bae and you wouldn't even look at me." He pressed his lips together, it was true and he knew it. He was rightfully worried about this odd change of circumstance. He hated being sidelined, hated even worse when he was involved in plots, and Cora had managed to do both. He also couldn't shake the feeling of being dirty after the kiss Cora had forced upon him. He hardly asked for it, but it had happened all the same and inwardly he was cringing. "I want you to trust me. I trust you." He was having problems meeting her eyes because he was being anything but trustworthy at this moment and he hated that. "Why can't you trust me?"

"It's not about trust." He told her.

"Then what's it about?" She asked.

Reaching up he stroked her hair back gently. "Keeping you happy and safe."

"Keeping secrets from me doesn't make me happy. Not telling me things doesn't keep me safe. All that does is put me in a bad place where I don't know what's going on. How is that safe?"

"Belle." He sighed.

"It is about trust." She said as she moved away from him a little, putting space between them. "You don't trust me and I don't understand why. I've never done anything that should make you think you can't share things with me."

"Belle, it's not about that." He insisted, but he could see she was drifting away from him now as he started to flat out lie. "Of course I trust you."

"You won't even tell me what happened to your leg." She pointed out. "You won't tell me why you got a divorce. You won't tell me why you decided to immigrate to Maine. You won't tell me about your family in Scotland." There was real hurt in her expression. "So why? Be honest with me."

"None of that matters." He told her. "It's done with."

"Your life matters." She insisted. "Your past matters the same way mine does. Why won't you share that part of yourself with me?"

"There's nothing to share, dearie."

She watched him for a few moments and when it became clear he wasn't going to even pretend to supply her with any details about the numerous topics she had brought up he saw resignation in her face. Leaning in she kissed his cheek gently. "Goodnight, Russell. I hope you work out whatever's going on." He said nothing as she left his space, but became agitated when he saw she veered away from the bed and headed to the door of her old room.

"Where are you going?" He asked, trying to hide his hurt at the blatant rejection.

"To bed." She answered tiredly, not looking at him as she opened the door. "I'll see you in the morning." She pulled the door shut softly behind her and he was left standing alone in his bedroom. Unsure of exactly what he was feeling about what had happened he continued to stare at the door now separating them. After several minutes of wavering, anger over her pushing, and guilt over shutting her out he let out a low sigh and followed her after tossing his tie and jacket over a chair in the corner. He knew from experience the worst thing they could do was go to bed angry and wanted to either stop this fight before it really started, or go ahead and have it out with her so they could make up.

Reaching out he opened the door and stepped into the room, leaving it open behind him in case he needed to retreat. He saw Belle was sitting against her headboard staring out at the window with her legs covered in her old quilt. She shifted at the sound of him coming inside and turned her head over her shoulder so she could see him. Getting to her he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. Her eyes were on him, asking him what he was doing and daring him to push too far all at once. Moving cautiously he scooted beside her, getting close and trying not to crowd her all at once.

"You're were right." He whispered as he caught her hand and rubbed his thumb over her skin. "I am a coward. I have been my entire life. I tried to make up for it by collecting power." He was quiet for a moment. "The power became so important for me… It's hard to let go."

"I'm not asking you to let go of anything." She said as she let her body relax back against the headboard. She was watching him as they spoke and he was at least glad she wasn't trying to ignore him the way she often did when she was angry with him. He had a feeling she did that to keep her temper in check. After the night he had chased her off to the library he knew why she did it. Her tongue was as sharp as his when she let it go and he knew it troubled her to hurt other people's feelings. It was easier for her to simply ignore the impulse to attack than deal with the aftermath.

"Knowledge is control. Knowledge is power." He pointed out. "I'm not good at sharing it."

"You don't need power, Russell, you need courage to let me in."

He was quiet for a long moment as he considered what would be easiest to tell her, what would require the least explanation. It didn't take him long to pick, mostly because she was right. With Cora on the prowl it wasn't safe to leave her on her own without information. Reaching out he cupped her face and pulled her into a warm kiss. She returned it and he shifted, gathering her up and pulling her into his lap, quilt and all. "You don't ask for easy things." He whispered when he broke away from her.

Reaching up she stroked his face with her fingertips, caressing him with real caring. "I don't think this is meant to be easy." She replied gently. "Tell me whatever it is you need to tell me." Slowly, he nodded and began to inform her. But even as he did, even as he told her about having to be careful, he was sure to edit out any mention of his real relationship with Cora. It was easier that way, he thought, and kinder to Belle. He saw no reason to get her worked up over something that had ended twenty years ago. It was over with, completely and forever. All he wanted was Belle and he would do whatever it took to keep her, even if that meant lying through his teeth, because he hadn't been lying. He was a coward through and through. Nothing was going to change that.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, real life decided it was far more important than writing for funsies. Hope you all enjoyed this one!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Bae handed her the box he had carried across the small town square for her as he helped her set up the small Miner's Day booth she was in charge of. Setting it down on one of the counters that went all the way around the wooden square she smiled at him. "Thanks for that." She had been at this for most of the afternoon. Her booth wasn't overly complicated, but she had been helping with four other booths and helping with the five-K that had ended only an hour ago. That had been the new big event she had helped set up this year, the one Regina was so opposed to for no discernable reason, and all the proceeds for that had gone to a new fund at the hospital. It was meant to be used to help buy them a new x-ray machine. The only one the hospital had was ancient and they really needed a new one. When she had suggested it to Whaler he had been all over the idea, and along with other hospital staff had helped her plan and organize the run. It made her feel better, trying to help them, after all they had done for her and her father.

"No problem." He said as he opened the box and began to dig through the numerous prizes she had gathered for her small game. All around them other people were working on their booths as well and she knew in another hour the organization would be done and people would start to show up. "So how does this work?"

She began to put the prizes to the side as she looked for the wooden rings for the game. It was a simple diversion, and she was sure as old as carnivals were. In the center of her square booth was a simple wooden frame she had built several years ago and continued to use for her booth. In the frame were fifteen neat rows of empty glass bottles of various heights and colors packed tightly together. She had removed all the labels so as not to be distracting, or to be accused of trying to promote alcoholic beverages by the more conservative adults in this town, which had happened in the past regardless. At any rate it was a popular game, one most people stopped at, and she tended to pull in a good sum of money at it every year. It went a long way to help the library, and often funded a large order of new books. Last year she'd spent the full lot on new children's books, as the collection was both smaller than she liked and the books had a habit of being damaged for obvious reasons. This year she was hoping to bulk up her science fiction section, as it had been on her list of things to update for at least the last two years.

Finding the smoothly sanded wooden rings that her father had helped her make she handed three of the nine to him, picking the pale blue ones for him to play with. "The goal is to get the rings around the bottle necks." She told him. "If you get one ring you get a lollipop." She showed him a large bowl full of them she already had ready, and had ten more bags of the cheep candy under the far counter. "Two rings and you can pick a small prize." She indicated the box he'd brought, which was full of any manner of silly little things; mood rings, small plastic animals little children would like, bouncy balls, kazoos, key chains, stickers, and various other toys. "If you get all three you can get one of the little stuffed bears, a big thing of bubbles, or, my favorite, leather bookmarks."

"Bookmarks?" Bae asked with a tolerant sigh. "Belle, you're a total dork."

She made a false sound of disagreement and grabbed one of the bookmarks so he could see. "Come on, these are nice."

He raised his eyebrow in an eerily familiar manner. "Yeah, super nice."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed as he turned the rings over, judging the weight of them. As she began to put the prizes out so they could be seen James walked over, holding tightly to his daughter's hand. She had no doubt the adventurous little girl was trying to escape so she could get into trouble. "Are you all set up, Belle?" The man asked with a kind smile.

"Just about." She replied, comfortable with the sheriff. "Would you like to be the first to play?"

"I-"

"I want to play!" Emma said excitedly, escaping his grasp with surprising ease and running the last few feet to the counter.

Her eyes twinkled in amusement. "It's a dollar to play." She told her.

She thought Emma would ask her father, but instead she reached into her own pocket and pulled out two quarters, four dimes, and two nickels. Taking the coins she handed her three of the wooden rings, these ones painted purple, and stepped out of the way. "All right, let's see if you can do better than your dad. As I recall he couldn't get more than a lollipop last year."

"Low blow." The man laughed. "Your husband is rubbing off on you."

Emma leaned forward, her arms barley reaching over the counter, and flicked her wrist, sending a ring flying. It bounced over several bottles before hitting the ground. Emma scrunched her nose, annoyed that she missed, and threw the next one. That one bounced off too, and so did the third. She sighed, crestfallen, and her chin dropped. "Man."

James patted her shoulder. "Good try, Emma."

"I guess." She said, still disappointed, but not whining about it the way many children would. Before she could say anything to encourage her Bae shoved a dollar in her hand and tossed his three ring in quick succession. In seconds two of them were settling around the bottlenecks and the last one was on the ground with the purple rings.

"Wow." She said, having never seen anyone throw them so fast and make any. She shoved the box of second prize toys toward him before placing the two dollars she'd made in her small metal moneybox.

Looking inside Bae reached in after a moment and pulled out one of the key chains. It was tiny and silver, with an image of a swan on it. Without hesitation he handed it to Emma, who took it with obvious surprise. "Your middle name is Swan isn't it?" He asked.

The little girl nodded, surprisingly shy considering her normally brazen personality, pleased with the gift he'd won her, and she suspected deeply charmed. "Thank you."

Bae shrugged without concern, as if nothing of real interest had just happened. James was eying the teen, although what he was thinking she wasn't sure and clearly wasn't about to find out as Russell picked that moment to walk over, having no doubt finished whatever he had been working on in his shop over the course of the day. "Sheriff." He said in way of greeting. The other man nodded to him easily and Gold looked over at his son. "August came looking for you at the shop."

"Where is he?" Bae asked.

"I suspect he's in line for cotton candy." He pointed in the direction of the cotton candy machine on the other side of the square, which had been part of Miner's Day tradition at least as long as she'd lived here. "Please eat something other than sugar tonight."

"Kill joy." Bae said with a grin as he took off. "See you."

Russell shook his head, unhopeful about his son's confectionary consumption, and turned his attention to her. "All set up, dearie?"

"I've already had two customers." She boasted as she held another set of rings out to him, these pink. "Want to try your luck, Mr. Gold?"

"No, thank you." He said dryly.

"That's very supportive." She pouted.

James laughed and patted his daughter's shoulder. "Come on, Emma. We need to find your mom. I promised her a funnel cake."

"Can we get hotdogs?"

James sighed as they walked away. "You're going to turn into a hotdog. Don't you want something else to eat?"

"No, I want a hotdog."

She smiled as they left and then turned her attention back to Russell. "Are you sure you don't want to play? It's fun."

"It's blatant exaction." He informed her.

She rolled her eyes. "It's for charity… And it's a dollar."

He kept his face stern, but his eyes were glittering in amusement. "I won't be bamboozled, even by such a pretty face."

"Bamboozled? Seriously? Who says that?" She was laughing as she spoke, secretly pleased he had called her pretty. His lip curled up at the corner and she shook her head. "Fine, don't be any fun, but I'll have you know this is how I get most of the money for new books every year. You're only hurting yourself."

That had him pausing. "What do you mean this is how you get most of your books?"

She cocked her head to the side. "The money I make on Miner's Day makes up about seventy percent of my available budget. I would hardly be able to afford books without it."

"How much do you make?" He asked.

"Last year about two thousand dollars." She smiled in remembrance. "You should have come then. It was a good time." He sighed in annoyance. "What? It was."

"Your budget for the library should be well above that." He told her. "I'll be sure that's fixed at the next counsel meeting."

She didn't bother to protest that. Instead, she used her influence over him in the hopes she could get something else fixed and couldn't even find it in herself to feel guilty about it. He had brought this up after all. "Could you see if they would give me enough to get the wiring fixed?" She asked, ignoring the other people milling around the area as they spoke. More were showing up, and she knew there were more now than there had been only ten minutes ago. Most of them were mingling on the outskirts of the square as the booths finished being set up. "I'll write a proposal and get an estimate for you. Regina keeps telling me she's already showed everyone, but I suspect she's lying to me."

"And what's wrong with the wiring?" He asked, confirming her hunch that the mayor had told no one about the problem.

"It's about thirty years older than me." She told him. "And it shorts out all the time. Eventually it's going to catch on fire and then there won't be a library at all and you'll have either an unemployed wife or a badly singed one."

"Of course it does." He said without surprise. "I'll be sure to bring that up. I would hate for you to get char broiled."

More than satisfied, she leaned over the counter separating them and pecked him on the lips, not at all bothered that other people could clearly see them. "You're sweet to me."

He tried to hide that he was pleased she'd just done that with everyone watching, but she could tell anyway. "No matter, dearie. That's what those meetings are for."

"I thought they were for gathering intelligence?" She said with a knowing smile.

"Well." He drawled. "That too."

She laughed at that and grabbed the box off the counter so it was out of the way. "Can I ask for one more thing from you today?"

He pretended to consider that carefully. Finally, he tilted his head in agreement. "One more."

She was enjoying the bantering, and he knew it. "Will you bring me something to eat in a little while? I can't leave the booth and I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Belle, a cup of coffee isn't food."

"Fine, I haven't eaten today and I'm starving."

He was exasperated with her for not eating, she could see it. However, he held his tongue about it. "What would you like?"

"Cheese steak?" She suggested hopefully. "There's a booth."

"A healthy choice." He deadpanned.

She shooed him away, knowing he was teasing. "Away with you, Mr. Turkey Sandwich."

He smiled, his lips curling at the corner. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you!" She called after him gratefully. The following few hours were quite fun and she spent as much time talking with people as she did running the booth, which was a nice change from her normally quiet life. Gold had brought her the requested cheese steak sandwich, along with curly fries and her favorite soft drink before wandering off again. She saw him drifting about every now and then, talking to people here and there even though he had zero interest in socializing. She knew it was because he was worried that this Cora woman was going to try to do something to her. Why he was so worked up about this she still didn't know. Maybe a few months ago she would have been troubled, but with the way things were now, with where they were heading, she didn't actually see the problem. She didn't see how anyone could prove that they got married under false pretenses unless either she or Gold said something seeing as there was no paperwork, stories, or outside sources to say that they had. Of course, Archie knew, but he wouldn't say anything. And besides, they weren't getting divorced anymore, so what could anyone really say about it?

She had pointed all this out to him when he was done telling her about what happened a few days ago, but it had brought him little comfort. When she asked him why he was still agitated he had simply told her he was worried about her and laid them both down on the bed, still in his suite and tie. At that point she wasn't sure if he was keeping something from her or dealing with anxiety over their new type of relationship and had left it alone. He had answered her question and it wasn't fair to push him for more after he shared something with her, especially after admitting his faults, which was extremely difficult for him. So she had curled up with him in her old bed, which calmed him noticeably, and eventually they had fallen asleep.

Since last week he had opened up to her a little more, going as far as telling her that he had been raised by his grandmother due to his mother dying shortly after he was born in a car accident and an absent father, who, by the sound of it, was either addicted to drugs or part of some other illicit activity. He had been sparse in detail on all sides, but even so it had been something and she appreciated. The small story about his childhood had smoothed away the hurt feelings he had caused the night before and they had resumed their late night activities. She was truly starting to think he was gifted in everything he did, and how she had gone this long without being made to feel these things was nearly impossible to understand. Clearly, Ruby had been wrong about her being uptight, and Russell had been right about her needing a better lover. She had no problem finding a release with him, as he liked to prove to her at least twice before they fell asleep at night. The really impressive thing about that was that he had yet to take any of her clothes off, although she was becoming fully impatient about that, which she suspected was exactly what he wanted.

She tried not to think about any of that while she was at the booth because she didn't need to start getting hot and bothered about her husband while surrounded by most of the town. However, when Bae found her around ten that evening when things were winding down and asked if he could stay over at August's again it took all she had to hide how ecstatic she was about that request. She had agreed, seeing Marco waving to her across the square in confirmation that this was more than acceptable, and was sure she could distract Gold enough not to be bothered by his son's absence. At eleven he found her again, coming from she didn't know where as she was packing the remainder of the prizes up to be used for next year.

"How'd it go, dearie?" He asked as she was coming out of her stall with the significantly lighter box in her arms and the moneybox inside it.

"I think I made at least as much as last year." She informed him. "You didn't have to circle the perimeter like a guard dog all night you know." He sent her an annoyed look, no doubt over her noticing that, and she went on. "I don't think this woman was going to confront me during a local festival."

"I believe she would have quite enjoyed doing exactly that." He informed her as he walked next to her. She noted he was limping worse than usual as they got to her car. He had been walking far too much tonight.

"I really think you're overreacting to all this." She informed him. "You're acting like we're involved in high stakes espionage or something."

He decided to ignore this. "Have you seen Bae? I'd rather not abandon him in the middle of the town this late at night."

"He's staying with August and Marco tonight. They left about twenty minutes ago." She informed him. "Which may be good news as I saw him eat at least five large puffs of cotton candy over the course of the night, not to mention three different flavors of ice cream cones."

He just sighed at that, knowing very well Bae had ignored his direction to eat something other than sugar. "At least he won't keep me up all night slamming doors and tromping up and down the stairs while he's revved up." Gold agreed.

She sent him a sideways look as she opened the trunk of her car and set the box inside it. "Oh."

"Oh?" He repeated as he glanced over toward his shop absently.

"I was just hoping you didn't have any real plans about sleeping tonight." She said innocently. That had his full attention in an instant and she shut the trunk without looking at him, feigning disinterest just to drive him crazy. Before he could say anything she moved, as if to go into the car, and paused long enough to kiss him suggestively behind his ear before whispering to him. "I'll meet you at home then?"

"Home? Yes. Absolutely." The words tumbled out of his mouth, nearly disjointed in his haste, having clearly picked up on her message.

She sent him a smile, small and knowing, and was deeply pleased with herself when he saw he was watching her with the look of an eager to please puppy. Holding his gaze meaningfully for half a moment she got into her car and started it. He watched her leaving for a second before heading toward his own car at a quick clip. Laughing a little nervously she hoped her daring paid off. She got home before he did and went inside and upstairs quickly.

She knew she had only a minute or two before he caught up with her, especially after her invitation, and she moved quickly. Going into her room she took off her clothes quickly and changed into the only thing she owned that was remotely sexy. Grabbing up the grey negligee, what she suspected was his favorite of the nighties he had bought her, she slipped it on. The gift had caught her off guard, having never received anything as large as this from him before. All of them were gorgeous, and surprisingly tasteful. Although that hadn't overly surprised her after the initial shock of the gift faded, as he constantly showed good taste in everything. It would have been out of character for him to get her vulgar underwear. She knew, in his mind, that would have somehow cheapened her, and nothing in his life was cheap. She was valuable to him, and he was showing it, subconsciously or not she didn't know.

No sooner had the silk fallen around her hips than she heard the front door open. Pulling her hair out of the loose bun she had it in sent it cascading down around her shoulders. The door downstairs closed with a soft click and she grabbed a comb and ran it through her curls quickly. By the time she heard the soft tap of his cane on the stairs she was back in order. Torn between giddiness, lust, and nervousness, she went into his bedroom, getting there not ten seconds before he did. When he stepped through the door from the hallway she didn't give him a chance to even say anything before she was on him. She thought if she was given anymore time to think about this she just might lose her nerve and she would regret that in the morning. That, or the sexual tension might finally kill her. He grunted when she all but slammed into him, having not fully seen her in the darkened room as his eyes hadn't had time to adjust, but she was kissing him, preventing him from verbalizing any sort of excuse to not do this. Clearly sensing there was no escape, and she very much doubted he wanted to escape; he grabbed hold of her and smashed her flat against him as he kissed her back hungrily.

When it became clear that he was on board with this she began to draw him back toward the bed and he followed more than willingly. When they got to the bed he broke away to try to say something and she kissed him again to make him stop. Her body was already half on fire and the last thing she wanted was for either of them to accidentally douse it by saying the wrong thing. Letting out a cross between a growl of want and a groan of appreciation at her behavior he spun them around and they toppled down onto the bed. She giggled as they bounced on top of the blankets and he twisted his head and nibbled at her neck as he shifted them farther onto the mattress. He dropped his cane to the floor next to the bed and she hummed happily into his mouth as she started to loosen his tie.

As she fumbled with the fabric, her fingers shaking from lust and adrenaline, he began to run his hands over her possessively. Wiggling at the sensations she pressed closer to him, which she felt was a very impressive feat as they were already tangled up together. Managing to get his tie off she dragged it out from under the collar of his shirt and tossed it out of the way before starting to shove his jacket off his shoulders, wanting nothing more than to have his bare skin pressed all the way along hers. He got tangled up in it and cursed, which had her giggling again. He kissed her in retribution before sitting up long enough to take it off. He tossed it away and she saw it flying over the far side of the bed. Before it hit the ground she was pulling him back down to her and it was obvious he was as eager as she was. She doubted the constant teasing and games they were playing while they got comfortable with one another were easy for him to deal with. More than once this week she had felt him physically restraining himself from taking this where he wanted it to go and knew he was doing that for her. She had appreciated that more than she could say, but right now the last thing she wanted from him was restraint.

His hands began to run over her and when he suddenly worked out that she wasn't wearing anything but the negligee he let out a low sound in the back of his throat. For her part she began to squirm as his long, sure, and now familiar fingers ran over her. She panted out his name, the mere thought of what was going to happen sending her dangerously close to the edge. Titling his head Russell began to kiss his way down her neck, sending little shivers full length down her spine in waves. Working his way down a little too fast to convince her he was in full control he got to her chest and began to nuzzle at the triangle of exposed skin just above her breasts. Her breath came out in halting little gasps and one of his hands snuck up to cup her as he held himself up on one arm. Reaching up she put her hands on his shoulders, running her hands as far down his back as she could reach. She could feel how warm he was, even with his shirt between them, and the sinewy muscles he hid so well.

He kissed her bare skin above the lace before shifting down farther, tickling at her with his nose. She wiggled a little, and then held her breath when he got to her stomach and kept shifting down, realizing what his destination was. She let out a sound of want, pushed past any thoughts of shyness or embarrassment, and he nipped at her hip over the silk. He ran his hand up and down her leg before slipping his hand under the hem of the negligee and moving it up inch by slow inch, taking the sight of her exposed skin in at his leisure. His breathing sped up noticeably, even to her more than half lost in lust, and he turned his head and kissed the soft skin of her thigh, moving up a little as he spread her legs open. Her hands slid back up to his shoulders and she gripped at him hard as she whimpered his name. "Russell."

He hummed in approval of her tone, his breath gusting against her curls, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or beg. Thankfully, he didn't give her a chance to do either, turning his head and settling himself between her legs, wrapping one of his arms around her thigh to hold her open. Lowering his head he kissed her center and she let out a cry at once, her whole body going taut. Encouraged by the quick response he continued to kiss her, interspersing them with licks, and flicks of his tongue. Beside herself at the sensations she thrashed and cried out, her fingers gripping at his shoulders hard as he drove her up with nearly alarming ease. In minutes she was a completely at his mercy and he had to know it. When she said his name again, a clear note of desperation in her tone, he took pity on her and swirled his tongue over her clit before sucking her hard. That had her snapping and she let out a wail of completion as pleasure crashed through her.

As her head spun and lights sparked behind her eyes he moved back up beside her, brushing the nightgown back down absently as he went back to nuzzling at her chest and neck. Managing to gather her wits about her somewhat she found she was still clutching at his shirt and let it go slowly. He looked up at her and she tugged him up to her. When he shifted beside her she kissed him deeply and he returned it, tangling his hand into her hair. When they broke apart she reached out and began to unbutton his shirt. He made no effort to stop her, instead, he occupied himself with feeling her out, running his hands all over her, over places that were no longer off limits. Finally, her fingers slid the last button loose and it was her turn to survey.

Sliding her hands under the shirt she mapped him with touch. He was thin, but surprisingly strong under his many layers of clothes. She would have spent more time exploring, but he became impatient at last. Letting her go he pulled the shirt off with a few sharp tugs before kissing her hotly and grabbing at the bottom of the negligee and pulling it up. She moved to help him get it off her and a moment later he had it over her head and off her. Gripping the fabric in his hand he looked down at her as she lay beside him, fully exposed to his gaze. His expression went slack for several long moments before she stretched up a little and kissed him. Sitting his hand on her hip he pressed her against him and she felt him hard and ready against her leg.

Reaching between them she tugged at the fastening on his pants. When her knuckles brushed against him he groaned and pushed her hands away so he could do it himself. Not wanting to slow him down she let him do it and he pulled the last of his clothing off quickly. He didn't give her much time to look at him before he caught her and started to kiss her again. Turning fully toward him she pressed up against him, finally getting to feel his warm skin against hers, and caught his face, cupping it gently as they kissed, wanting to feel as emotionally close to him as they were physically.

He tried to stay gentle with her, but he was so worked up now that he was physically shaking as lust pounded through him. Fully understanding what he was feeling she rolled to her back slowly, drawing him after her. He hummed into her mouth as she silently invited him to her and pulled her under him as he twisted over her. He deepened the kiss at once and she whimpered into his mouth, already heating back up again after her last release. All she wanted was to have him inside her. She really couldn't wait for him anymore. The moment he was over her she wrapped one of her legs around his, still just aware enough to be sure it was his strong leg, and he groaned low in his throat as she pressed full length against him.

Holding himself up on one arm he reached between them and rubbed her center. She sucked in a sharp breath and tilted her hips up for him at once. He realized she was wet and ready for him, although that should have been obvious after what he did with his mouth, and he settled himself between her legs, looked into her eyes, and pressed into her slowly. She moaned softly in approval, her eyes fluttering shut at the wonderful feeling of being full, her toes curling as her body undulated up against his. She felt his lips on hers and her eyes opened again. She found him staring down at her with dark, lust filled eyes… and then he started to move.

She whimpered, her body hot and tingling all over, and her leg tightened over his, drawing him deeper inside as he rocked forward. He groaned when she did that and his lips trialed down her jaw as he moved nearly lazily over her. She would have thought him in full control if she hadn't felt the tremors running full down through him as they danced together. He bottomed out in her again and she let out a hitching breath as pleasure cascaded through her, growing increasingly strong by the moment. Her hands tightened around his arms and she moaned out his name softly, pleadingly. Gold kissed her again, although his movements never changed. It seemed possible to her that if he did he would lose control completely. She let out a cry as the pleasure stepped up again and she tried to press her hips closer to his in an effort to coerce him into speeding up, but he was too heavy for her to gain anything from it. The sound of their bodies slicking together and their breathing filled their bedroom and she could hear her own heartbeat thrumming through her body hard, blood pounding in her ears.

"Russell!" Her other leg came up and hooked around his waist. She was sure she could stand this much longer, and oh, she was going to die from this. "Please!"

He groaned and kissed her, pressing into her harder at last. She moaned into his mouth and her body began to tighten, fighting for control over her mind. She broke away from his mouth with a gasp and jerked all over. One of his arms left the mattress and he twisted it down to grasp at her hip, holding her in place as he thrust into her harder still. Another sharp cry fell out of her and then she snapped, her body going rigid. Ecstasy smashed through her and she clawed at him as it took her over. She heard him let out a hoarse cry of pleasure as he pressed fully into her and his hips ground into hers. They pressed against one another for what felt like an eternity before her foggy head began to clear marginally.

Having never felt so good in her life she lay under him limply, her head spinning and her body humming with pleasure. Gold lay over her for several minutes, still buried inside of her snuggly and panting harshly, and the feel of him slowly getting soft between her legs was sending little butterflies fluttering in her stomach, although she didn't know why. Perhaps that was just an intimacy she'd never experienced with anyone before. Moving his head he kissed her tiredly before shifting off her. Still trembling slightly she turned so she was facing him and he lay his arm over her middle as she nestled up against him and let her heavy eyes fall shut.

As he pulled the comforter over them to ward off the fall chill, wrestling with it briefly as it had gotten tangled, she wondered how long he had gone without a lover, and then wondered if she really wanted to know. She decided she didn't at all. What she wanted was to feel like this forever and not have to move no matter how unrealistic that was. Shifting himself he kissed her sweaty forehead gently and her eyes fluttered back open so she could see him. His hand came up and he stroked her cheek with utter tenderness as he watched her. "Hey."

"Hi." She whispered back as she gave him a soft smile. He watched her affectionately for some time, causing her cheeks to flush lightly, before kissing her one more time and urging her closer to him. A moment later and she was tucked up against him, her head under his chin and their legs tangled together intimately. Feeling beyond tired she drifted in a pleasant haze, tickling at his chest with her fingertips as she headed toward sleep. He patted her lower back gently before going still, his breathing getting deep and even. Wiggling just a little to get comfortable she relaxed fully into him, reaching around for the blanket as it slid down her shoulder. As she slid it more firmly around her, and off of him, he let out a low sigh and bated her hand away.

"You have to learn to share." He mumbled as he turned her over so he could spoon up at her back.

"No." She replied groggily. "No sharing. My blankets now."

"Dearie, everything is yours." He informed her, coming awake a little. "I would simply appreciate you graciously allowing me use at least a small portion of the sheets."

She snuggled back into him, taking his hand and securing it around her, too groggy to even comprehend what he had just said. "Only because I like you though." She sighed drowsily, allowing him to arrange the blanket so he was covered as well. He readjusted himself around her the way he usually did when they went to sleep and kissed the back of her head. "Russell?"

"Hmm?"

Turning her head she kissed him gently. "I'm really glad I married you." His eyes came open at that and she watched him.

His arm tightened around her and he set his forehead against hers. "So am I." She smiled at him with sleepy happiness and he kissed her again before his lip curled up. "Certainly the best deal I've ever made." Bemused, and more than content, she turned her head back around and relaxed, but only after letting him see her rolling her eyes. Behind her he chuckled, knowing that had amused her, and she drifted off to sleep, spent and content beyond reason.

Author's Note: Was it worth the wait?


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

He woke up late. That was the first real thought he had, and one that had his eyes coming open quickly as his internal clock kept frantically telling him he was running late for something. After years of getting up with the sun, if not before, having it shining softly on his face was all it took to let him know he was off his normal routine. For a disorienting moment he was baffled as to what was going on, as he could count on one hand how many times he had slept this late in the last twenty years, and then he felt the warm weight of his wife against him and his question was answered. Relaxing at once he closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the morning for at least a minute or two longer. Belle was still deeply asleep, although that was no surprise. Given the opportunity she would sleep until midmorning before her body drove her up. Compared to Bae, who could sleep until early afternoon on the weekends if no one bothered him, it wasn't all that impressive, but he would admit to rather liking a few hours to himself on weekend mornings. That, and having her come down half awake and cuddly was a nice way to start the day. In the last few weeks she had curled up with him on the couch while she sipped at her coffee and woke up, which for some reason felt far more intimate than anything they had done in the bedroom, at least until the last few nights.

Turning over, and no doubt about to loose the tentative hold he had on the bedding by doing so, he picked his watch up off the bedside table. Letting out a low sigh he saw it was twenty minutes to seven and knew he needed to get up, as reluctant as he was to do so. Bae would be up soon and on a mad dash to get ready for school as he always slept until the absolute last moment. And as he needed to take him to school he needed to be ready too. Turning back over briefly he kissed her shoulder, knowing she could sleep another half an hour or so before she absolutely needed to get up and got out of bed. He felt a bit guilty about keeping her up most of the last two nights, certainly not guilty enough to let her sleep tonight, but enough to allow her thirty more minutes of rest.

He had been all over her since Saturday night, not that she seemed to mind. It had been so long since he'd had a lover, a stretch of celibacy he didn't even want to contemplate, that his body was all but roaring at him to have her as often as possible. He felt like a teenager lost to his first crush, and was amazing himself by allowing himself to enjoy it. After they made love the first time they had both dozed off briefly before waking each other up again. Honestly, he wasn't sure they slept even three hours that night all together. The only reason they finally got out of bed was so he could go pick Bae up. There had been no other reason for him to get up. There was, however, every reason to stay. He had never been so satisfied with a lover in his life. Belle had been eager, open, and oh so loving. Never mind that she was convinced she was bad at this, never mind that he was positive he had far and away more experience, never mind that he had convinced himself that there was no possible way for them to get closer. All of that had been wrong. All of his sure conceptions of what this meant had been wrong… For once he found he didn't mind that, didn't mind that he was so very out of his depth. He knew that should have scared him, but it didn't. All it did was excite him and have his body suffusing with heat and affection.

Trying to shake that off, as they both had to go to work, he made sure she was covered with the comforter, as it was a bit chilly in the room, and headed toward his closet. Despite his best efforts the mattress shifting disturbed her. Mumbling her discontent over being woken up she snuggled farther into the bed, burying her face in the pillow in protest of the morning sun. Humming in amusement he leaned over and kissed her head before going to the closet, which was still mostly under his control. Belle, it seemed, quite liked the idea of having all her things in another closet. His easy lie about having her own space to get ready and move around proved to be a true winner. He thought she rather liked having a space that was still just hers, and when she turned down his offer to move his things around he had shrugged and left her alone.

Picking out clothes quickly he pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt with swift efficiency. Shifting to his tie rack, bouncing slightly on his good leg as he left his cane next to the bed, he selected the green tie she got him for his birthday, his favorite since he received it, and tossed it over one shoulder so he could get a few other things. When he stepped out with a jacket in his hand, on the search for socks, she protested the activity. "You always get up so early, Russell."

That was true. He was always up before her even though his shop opened the same time as the library. He got there earlier so he could work on other things in the extra hour he gave himself, like looking over his properties, collecting rent, or working on any legal cases the small town brought to him. This had become even more normal for him since Bae moved here. He liked spending the evenings with his son, and would much prefer taking care of things in the morning while he was already at school than waste time in the evening. Still, her groggy dissent, nearly a pout, captured him as surely as if she had thrown a net around him and pulled him to her. Sitting down on the edge of the bed had the mattress bowing in and her sliding toward him slightly thanks to gravity. She opened her eyes, moving her face out of the pillow so she could see him, and he leaned in and kissed her temple. Smiling and blushing at once she shifted so she was facing him fully and kissed him warmly as she arched up to him. He hummed in approval as she captured his lips with hers and his hand came up and stroked her hair back carefully. "That's because I sleep all night unlike some people I know."

She smiled slightly and tugged him back down next to her. "Neither of us slept all night." She mumbled as he lay back down beside her, which was exactly what she wanted.

"And whose fault is that?" He asked teasingly as he began to kiss his way down her neck. "Hmm?"

"Yours." She informed him as she began to unbutton his shirt. "For teasing me for weeks."

"You've been teasing me for months." He replied with no remorse at all, allowing her to get his shirt all the way off.

"I have not." She whispered as he began to nibble at her skin. "I've done nothing but live here with you."

"I assure you that was enough." He told her as he lifted his head back up and kissed her. Humming in approval, and projecting her want as much as she had last night she pulled him closer and kissed him more insistently. Taking advantage at once he shoved the blanket off her and she blushed again as she was exposed to the early morning light that was streaming through the sheer curtains. It hardly helped her natural modesty when he lifted his head up so he could take her in. While he had certainly had ample opportunity to look at her the last few nights it had been dark. The first night they were so caught up they barely paused to catch their breath, let alone turn on a light. Last night neither of them had dared turn the lamp on with Bae down the hall, assuming that had ever crossed her mind at all. That was simply a conversation he didn't want to have, certainly not in the context it was sure to come up in. His hand ran over her side as his eyes darkened with lust. "God you're gorgeous."

He wasn't sure she could blush anymore as she fidgeted against him. He turned his attention back to her face, amused with her shyness, but feeling nice enough not to say anything about it. Putting his arm around her he shifted her to her back and she kissed him again as she reached down to get his pants loose. He kissed her as she got the small latches loose and when she pulled his zipper down let her go long enough to pull them off and toss them, and his boxers, out of the way. He was as ready as she was, if not more so, and she pulled him back so she could kiss him again.

He murmured his approval as he pressed up against her and began to run his hands over her lightly, loving how soft she was. She returned the affection, feeling him out as he rested some of his weight over her. Soon enough she was panting lightly and pressing up against him insistently, too shy to say what she wanted, but eager enough not to try to deny it either. He didn't make her wait, he wasn't sure he could wait for that matter, and surprised her when he propped himself up and flipped her to her stomach. Belle let out a sharp gasp at the move, but when she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes alight with lust, he knew this had been a good idea. Reaching under he found her center at once and rubbed her for a moment until he realized she was already wet. Groaning at the heat of her radiating into his hand, as well as her suddenly tilting her backside up to make this easy for him, he quickly laid down over her, spreading her legs apart with his knee. He kissed her shoulder again as he positioned himself and pressed inside of her warm heat, his eyes snapping shut at the feeling of it, nearly loosing control of himself at once. He stilled before he could embarrass himself and end this before it started.

She moaned as he filled her up and he kissed her again as he got comfortable. As he rested snugly inside her, the position allowing him to slide even deeper inside her than he had imagined possible she protested the lack of movement. "Russell." His name came out as a high-pitched whimper of pleasure and he cooed quietly at her, not wanting to wake up his son.

"Shhh." She shivered under him, burying her face in the pillow again, but this time for a totally different reason. Her fingers tangled in the sheets below them as he nibbled at her neck, regaining himself. When she started to squirm impatiently he began to rock his hips slowly into hers and she couldn't help but let out little whimpers at the feeling of it, no matter how quiet she was trying to be. He let out a harsh breath as he moved, the pads of his feet pressing into the bed to give him more leverage, as well as to anchor himself to reality. He wanted to make this good for her and to do that he needed to concentrate, and she was making that hard to do.

They rocked together for a long time, his hips keeping a steady rhythm against hers as he strove to make sure they both came. Belle shifted below him, her arms uncurling and stretching out so she could place her palms on the headboard and drive herself more tightly against him, increasing the pressure of his thrusts without having to ask. Having already noted that gentle wasn't always what she liked he kept on steadily, tucking the information away for later, and he slowly but surely got her to the brink. She began to tighten up, her fingernails scratching at the wood of the bed frame as she arched up against him, trying to get closer as if that were at all possible. He reacted to her, wanting her to fall so he could as well, and reached down to rub her in time with his thrusts. Unable to keep quiet any longer she pressed her face into the pillow hard and let out a low cry, nearly completely muffled by the fabric and padding. As soon as she went stiff, her muscles clamping rhythmically around him, he allowed himself to let go with her. The tingling that had been building at the base of his spine exploded downward and everything good that it was possible to feel coursed through his body. He was bowled over by the sensations, the breath leaving his body in a rush and he clamped his jaw shut to prevent himself making any noise and his hips straining forward.

He lost track of time after that and when he came back down Belle was shaking madly below him. He was slumped under her, his forehead resting against her shoulder, his breath blowing against her bare skin. As he lay over her, spent and satisfied, he was rather sure he needed to get off her as his head spun in an exceedingly pleasant manner. After several long minutes he gathered himself back together and kissed at her shoulder as he rolled off her. Turning to his back he panted up at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath. For her part Belle lay where she was, either dazed or too satisfied to move. He made no protest, simply laid there quite happily, appreciating his good fortune. After a few more minutes he reached over and began to tickle his fingers over her back as he caressed her, his eyes closed and his entire body relaxed. Belle let out a happy hum in response and he could think of no better way to start his day.

Knowing he now had even less time to get ready he turned his head he let his nose rest in her hair, allowing himself a few more seconds. They lay like that for a moment before they both heard Bae up and moving about with his usual amount of noise. He let out a low sigh of regret and kissed her forehead as he patted her before forcing himself from the bed. She let him go reluctantly, pulling the sheet up over her shoulder and snuggling back into her pillow.

He said nothing about her silent protest to the morning and pulled his clothes on for a second time as Belle ignored that she also needed to get ready for the day sooner rather than later. Once he was in a shirt and had his jacket out he began to put on his tie, trying to coax her up as he knotted it. "Will coffee tempt you enough to get you out of bed?"

"No." She said as she snuggled farther under the covers.

"Coffee and toast?" He asked as he suppressed a smile at her small rebellion.

"No." She said, pulling the sheet up over her head, refusing to be moved even by the temptation of his horrid culinary skills. "I like this bed. It's now my favorite place. You should skip work and stay here with me. It's much more fun with you in it."

He let out a small puff of air. "That's very tempting, dearie." She pulled the sheet down so her eyes were visible and he had to fight down the simultaneous urge to laugh or groan. "But we both know you're going to wait until the last minute and then rush out of here like a bull in a china shop."

She let her whole head out. "Not if you stay here. If you stay here I don't have to do that. We could play hooky together."

Oh god, she had no idea how tempting that was, but he certainly needed to open his shop. Still, with Bae at school there would be no need to be quiet or discrete about anything. "Belle-"

"Russell." She countered, jutting her bottom lip out slightly so she was pouting.

"We have work." He pointed out.

She let out a sad little sigh and turned over, letting the sheet slip down until it pooled around the small of her back, only just hiding her pretty bits from being seen. "Fine." He really had no idea what got into her. She had never tried such blatant flirting with him before, he had no idea where it came from, but damn if it wasn't working even better than she knew.

He tried to work this out, tried to make himself think as the silence settled in the room, but she was causing all kinds of misfires in his brain. He finally came to a single conclusion. "You're not even trying to play fair."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied, lying unashamedly, as she stretched out so the sheet rippled over her legs, slipping away so a sliver of her thigh showed, and his head tilted as he followed the show of skin. "I'll see you when you get home tonight. You better go or Bae will be late for school."

All right, she won and he knew it. Stepping back to the bed he sat down and she opened one eye as he leaned over her, his hand sliding under the sheet so he could caress the skin of her stomach and chest as he sat at her back. Bending his head down he kissed her warm neck, brushing her curls out of the way lightly as he did. Opening her other eye she turned her head and looked at him in what she no doubt hoped was an innocent manner. He watched her with lustful amusement before kissing her warmly. He found he didn't mind in the slightest that he had just lost this negotiation. "I'll be back in twenty minutes." He murmured, and she smiled against his lips as she kissed him again, beyond pleased she had gotten her way. He tried to throw in at least one stipulation of his own. "Can I ask that you don't put on anything other than this sheet?"

She turned her head back into the pillow, her mussed curls all over the place. "I suppose I can do that for you." She agreed, her expression nothing but smugness.

He almost laughed and kissed her again, nipping her bottom lip lightly with his teeth before standing up. "Well played, dearie."

She giggled, dropping the act as he stood up, and he finally chuckled as he left the room, shutting the door behind him quickly to keep her hidden from view.

Going downstairs he found Bae rummaging for food, looking lost, as if he didn't know exactly what to do. Finding that amusing he spoke. "There's cereal in the cupboard." Bae wrinkled his nose, having no doubt anticipated something much more interesting for breakfast as Belle cooked as well as any chef he'd ever encountered. "Or oatmeal."

"Bleck." Bae responded. "No one likes oatmeal but you. And it's not even the good oatmeal with things in it. Just plain old unflavored oatmeal."

"The hardships you endure." He said dryly. "You're going to have to make the best of it. Belle's still asleep."

His son appeared physically pained by this news. After a moment he went to the cupboard dramatically and pulled out a box of cereal, which he knew very well was his favorite, and glumly got a bowl and spoon to eat it with. Shaking his head he went to the fridge and pulled out the milk as well as the lunch Belle had packed for Bae last night. He set both on the island where they tended to eat, the dinning room table badly neglected for years now, and Bae began to eat. "Is she sick?"

"No." He assured him. "She wanted a lie in."

"Won't she be late for work?" Bae asked.

He smiled slightly as he managed to pry the box away from his son so he could have his own meal. "She doesn't have to be to the library until eight thirty."

"Then why is she always up before me?" He asked.

"So she can make us breakfast and sit with us. And to be sure you get to school on the days I have to go to the shop early."

Bae absorbed that. "She gets up early for that?"

"Yes." He agreed calmly.

"Why?" His son asked, flabbergasted that anyone would get up earlier than they needed to.

"Because she wants to spend time with us and you get rather cranky when you don't eat."

"Oye! I do not!"

He chuckled around a mouthful of cereal. "You're as friendly as a rabid dog when your stomach is empty." His son glared at him and he smiled briefly before going serious. "Family is important to Belle. That's how she shows it."

Bae turned that over for a moment as he ate his cereal. "She said her dad died last year."

"He did. Right before we got married." He agreed seriously. "They were very close and he was the only family she had."

"What happened to her mom?" He asked.

"I actually don't know." He told him, startled and a little disturbed that he didn't. "She never told me."

Bae gave him an odd look. "That seems important."

Yes, it was, but he wasn't going to push. Belle had enough trouble talking about her father, he wasn't sure how she would respond to a question like that. "I would think it must be if she hasn't told me."

"That makes no sense."

"I'm sure someday it will." He assured him. "Do you have everything you need for school?"

"Yes."

He wasn't fully convinced. "Homework?"

"Yes." Bae sighed.

"Pencils?"

"Yes." He said, aggrieved.

"Books?"

"Papa!"

"All right, but I'm not going to run home and get things for you again."

"That happened twice!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Four times in three months." He corrected. Bae rolled his eyes and his lips curled up at the sides. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast." He told him. "You're going to be late."

Bae rolled his eyes and finished his cereal before going to get his book bag. Urging him out to the car he took him to school, trying to forget that his wife was waiting for him in bed, naked, so he could at least keep up a normal conversation with his son. Ten minutes later and Bae was where he was supposed to be and he was pulling back into the driveway. More than happy to get back upstairs he locked the door firmly behind him, not wanting to be interrupted, and headed back upstairs. Opening the door he found Belle sitting against the headboard waiting for him, the blanket tucked strategically around her. He could tell she'd cleaned herself up and brushed her hair out while he was gone, but as promised she hadn't put on any clothes. Delighted, but not wanting to show it, he stood there taking her in, absorbing the sight to pursue at a later time. And honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting them to do today, other than the obvious, but he was sure even they couldn't keep that up _all _day. He was only human after all. As he stood in the doorway watching her she watched him back, no doubt wondering what he was doing or thinking. Finally, she broke the silence. "Really, it's much more enjoyable here when we're both in the bed… together… at the same time."

Whatever tension had built up in him dissipated in a rush and he raised an eyebrow. Moving forward he pulled the door shut behind him and came toward her. "I have to admit that's true."

She smiled as he sat down and abruptly shifted so she was in his lap. His arms wrapped around her at once and she put hers around his shoulders, using his chest to hold the sheet up. "You came back." She said with bashful happiness.

Reaching up he tucked her hair back. "Did you expect me not to?" He asked, a bit confused.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I hoped you would." She played with his hair, her fingers flicking sporadically, and he suddenly realized she was nervous for some reason. "I'm glad you did."

He kissed her gently before pulling back. He went back to watching her for a moment before a question tumbled out of his mouth. "Why are you here?" He hadn't meant to ask that, although he had been wondering since Boston. He was afraid of what her answer would be, and as much as he loved her open honesty, he was equally afraid of it, of what her answer might be, of why she had really decided to stay with him, if she truly meant to stay for any length of time.

"What?" She asked, bemused. "You wanted me to wait here for you."

"Why are you still here?" He clarified, watching her intently with near painful confusion. "Why did you stay with me? Why didn't you go back to Australia?"

She was stunned he was asking that, he could see it in her expression. After a moment though, something soft and warm filled her eyes, something he had only hoped was there. Moving her hand she stroked his cheek tenderly. "Because I love you." He was silent and she became increasingly apprehensive at the odd stillness. "Is that not a good enough reason?" She asked at last.

In response he grabbed the back of her head and slammed his lips against hers in a clumsy and desperate kiss. She let out a surprised moan before returning the kiss fervently. Twisting, he laid her back down and settled over her. "It is." He assured her before kissing her again and again, love blooming in his chest as well and beautifully as any of his roses. "It's a perfect reason." He said a bit raggedly as his emotions went wild. He had never, not once in his life, had a partner that loved him. And despite all his history, his misgivings of relationships, and his instinctual distrust of people as a whole, he believed her. He believed her because she had never lied to him. He believed her because she was a horrible liar. He believed her because he trusted her… and he loved her too.

He was so enthusiastic about this that he barely took the time to admire her, which had been the whole point of his request that she not put anything on. Belle wrapped her arms around him and he shoved the sheet off her, impatient to have her. He was also keen to have her as ready as he was as quickly as possible, although he didn't want to rush her, which he admitted was something he couldn't have both ways. Fortunately, it appeared Belle didn't need much to help her along and began to paw at his clothing excitedly. He shook out of it, anything but graceful in his haste, and she helped as much as hindered the whole process. They kept bumping into one another, and after the first few times she began to laugh breathlessly, which injected a whole new level of emotion into the thing and he smiled at her as humor raced through him.

When he was finally free of his clothes, and he had never disliked his suit more, he kissed her passionately as she was kneeling beside him on the bed, having sat up when she was trying to get his tie off him. He had her hot again easily as he took a few moments to coax her back. When she moaned softly for him to get in her, a certain tone his ears were now pricked for, he sat flat on the bed and pulled her to him. She straddled his legs at the gentle prompting and he held her hips with one hand and positioned himself with the other. Then he was sliding her down over him and they both let out surprising loud sounds of appreciation. "Dearest." The endearment fell from his lips easily she arched her back in response, her hands settling on his shoulders as she met his eyes, a boldness he could only admire.

She rolled her hips and they started rocking together slowly, as it appeared he wasn't the only one that wanted to savor this moment. In this position he could touch all of her as they moved and he ran his hands up her sides possessively. She sighed his name out as her head tipped back. "Russell."

He leaned in and nipped at her neck as she kept up the easy pace, hardly needing him to guide her. "I've been wanting you." He ground out as he lifted his hips. His hand flattened over her back and tugged her closer against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him in response. His lips pressed warmly over hers and her head started to spin. This felt so damn good. "For so long, Belle. Since you made me laugh that first time."

She gasped as she tilted her hips and hit her just right. "Right there!"

Reaching down he gripped her hips and held her still so he could do it again. When she moaned and tightened her arms around him he stared at her face. "There?" His strained question made her shiver even as grazed her g-spot again.

"Yes!" She hissed and he continued to move inside her. "Don't stop!"

He didn't, he honestly didn't think he could. Lifting one of his hands he grabbed her face and held it so they were staring at one another as he pushed into her. When her eyes fluttered closed in pleasure he growled at her. "Open your eyes." He was panting, desperate to see her sky blue eyes cloud over with pleasure.

She forced them open, and he was amazed by the intensity of this. Belle wasn't even trying to hide away. What he saw nearly did him in right there, and only sheer force will kept him gamely with her. Unable to hold onto even thoughts of what he was seeing for very long as he teetered on the edge of orgasm, he was frantic to throw her over with him, because he wasn't going to make it more than a few more moments. Stretching his thumb out he touched her clit, rubbing her in time with their movements. She lost control and moaned as she shuddered in pure bliss. He held her face as she went up and somehow she managed to keep her eyes open. It completely did him in. When she shattered against him he let go with a satisfied groan, euphoria taking him over. As she thumped against his chest, too lost even to keep herself up, he fell back on the bed, dragging her down with him.

Pulling in ragged breaths he lay on his back trying to regain himself. Above him Belle was in no better condition as her body continued to shake from pleasure. Immensely satisfied with himself for getting her to such a point for the second time that morning he allowed himself to fully enjoy the effects of his orgasm. Reaching up he rubbed her hip clumsily, as he couldn't get his limbs to function all the way around yet, and enjoyed having her on him. Both their bodies were slick with perspiration and despite them both gasping they had somehow synched their breathing. As he caught his breath Belle's body slowly loosened until she was completely limp, and by that point he had some control over himself again. He began to rub her back slowly, the tips of his fingers brushing lightly over the length of her spine. She let out a low sigh of contentment, which whispered against his shoulder, and he smiled, happy to indulge her love of touch.

After a little while he carefully eased her to the mattress beside him, not because he wanted her off, but because of the pressure she was putting on his leg. She looked up at him when he shifted her and he kissed her warmly as he turned toward her, taking all his weight off his bad leg at once. Feeling much better with the pain receding he looped his arm around her and went back to rubbing her back, his fingers tickling along her shoulder blades as well. Belle settled down at once and he kissed her again. She smiled at him, her eyes suddenly twinkling with mischief. "I told you I would find us something fun to do that didn't involve reading if you took a day off with me."

That surprised a delighted chuckled out of him and her smile grew. "Had I known you were thinking along these lines I may have taken a free day much sooner." She giggled and he kissed her again. When he drew back, he rubbed her face with his knuckles gently. "I love you." He said, having meant to say it since she had told him how she felt, but having somehow lost his train of thought along the way. Belle had gone still, watching him with near fear, and he kept caressing her cheek, understanding exactly what she must be feeling. The insecurity, the tentative hope, and the unexplainable warmth. "Stay with me." He whispered. "Not for a few months, or years. I want you to stay with me."

She went shy then, all at once, barely able to hold his gaze. "Like we're really married?"

His heart clenched painfully. He felt guilty then, for having done this to her despite the very favorable outcome. Because he heard more than the question she asked. He heard the hope, and the want, and the importance she put on this. He wondered how badly it had upset her to have married him when she hadn't wanted to. How she must have felt to trade herself to him, no matter that it was only supposed to be for a little while, for the sake of having any future for herself at all, for the sake of not living her life in fear or poverty to a man he was sure she had once been afraid of. And it only made it worse knowing that now, if anyone had dared to do something like that to her, he would kill them on the spot without a second thought or hesitation. "Yes." He said shakily. "Like we're really married." He paused for half a beat. "Please." This time his voice was shaking, and he didn't bother to hide it. "I love you. I want you here with me forever."

She gave him the most heartbreaking smile he had ever seen. "Even though I break all your things?"

"It gives me the opportunity to redecorate periodically." He reasoned easily.

"And I steal the blankets?"

"I've been seriously considering simply putting another one on the bed that only I can use."

She watched him seriously, although her eyes were twinkling. "I'll take that one too eventually."

He smiled at her softly. "That's all right."

"I would really like that then." She told him softly. "A lot."

"Me too." He agreed. Moving his arm back around her he pulled her against him and she nuzzled her head under his chin. He ran his hand through her hair slowly, playing with her dark curls. "We'll be happy, Belle."

"I already am." She told him. "I'm happy here with you." Leaning his face down he kissed her head, hoping like hell he could live up to what he wanted to be with her, but deep down, at his very core, he was terrified that he was doomed to fail if for no other reason than he'd never succeeded before.

Author's Note: New chapter! Yay! Show me some love back and leave me a review


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Belle was watching him sullenly and he had no idea why. She was sitting near the window in their room, in the small nook the architecture of the bay windows offered. What he was sure was originally meant to make the room feel bigger and more open by the person who originally constructed the house meant little to him. He had filled the extra square footage with two overly stuffed, mismatched, comfortable chairs and a very small circular table, just big enough to hold a few teacups. The view was wonderful though, and after several late nights sitting up with her talking at the spot he found he very much liked the way he'd set the area up, even though right now, this late in February, there was nothing to see but snow. His garden wasn't visible at all and he was hard pressed to see the outline of his yard, let alone the plants and paths buried beneath several feet of frozen accumulation. But the view was the least of his worries. His wife was throwing her own version of a temper tantrum as she watched him pack his suitcase. He really had no idea what had gotten into her, but she had been fussy and anxious for nearly a week, and when he told her he had to go into Boston for a meeting it had done anything but improve her mood.

He was simply trying to keep his head down at this point, baffled over to what he'd done to get himself in trouble, but this strategy obviously wasn't working as she had come up here after him, leaving Bae and August alone in the parlor playing with the gaming system he'd gotten for Christmas. Every now and then he would hear the boys yell, laugh, or taunt one another as they tried to beat whatever it was the virtual system threw at them. At the moment he rather envied them, thinking whatever they were trying to defeat was much less of a challenge than having an angry spouse. "I don't know why you can't just wait until tomorrow morning to leave." She told him.

He sent her a look out of the corner of his eye as he pulled some socks out of a drawer. He really needed to go get this taken care of and would rather do it now than later. He had to actually ask a favor to meet with his lawyer on a Saturday, as he didn't normally work on the weekends, but he was determined. He and Belle had been living as a real married couple for nearly four months now and he could honestly say he had never been happier. Oh, they argued and drove one another to madness the way they had been doing since she moved in, but that wasn't a bad thing. If anything it was fun… and normal. He never thought he would be in a normal relationship with a sane, sweet woman that loved him as much as he loved her. Truly, this was wonderful, and he loved her to pieces, but right at this moment he once again questioned the way the minds of women worked, because clearly they were all mad as hatters. Generally she was a lovely companion that he could relate to on a deep level, but recently she had become rather erratic. He told himself it was hormones because it was no doubt easier for him to rationalize than whatever was really going on in her head. Or worse that was exactly what was going on and he was smart enough to know better than to mention it.

So instead of allowing an argument to start he bit his tongue over her hounding him for days on end and stayed patient with her. Eventually this would pass as all things did. All he had to do was outlast her. "Because I need to be in Boston by eight thirty tomorrow morning and there is a blizzard on the way. Would you rather I get stuck on the highway tomorrow?"

"I would rather you simply stay here." She informed him, destroying the nice little hypothetical question mercilessly. "Especially since you won't tell me what is so important about Boston in the first place."

"And I thought you liked surprises." He commented as he placed his socks carefully and precisely in his bag. And it was a surprise, a good one. He had rewritten their prenuptial agreement and his will and needed them certified by his lawyer. When they first got married, when this was still a deal, he had been dead sure that she would get nothing when the marriage ended, which she had agreed to without batting an eye. However, they were at a point now where the last thing he wanted if anything happened was to leave her penniless. True, she had her own small nest egg between what she made on the house and what Regina had replaced from her father's life insurance, but she deserved better than that even if they had the messiest divorce in history, although he found that very unlikely. This was even more important to him now that she had partial custody of Bae, an agreement that had fully sealed their relationship for him. It had been a serious thing for him to ask of her, the most serious he could think of, and she had agreed with real understanding of what the request meant. He had been touched by the solemn agreement, which was far more than a promise, more than he could say. Belle took better care of his son than Mila did and he really didn't know if she understood what that meant to him, or to Bae, who in his own quiet way worked out the same thing. In return he wanted to show her what that meant to him and this seemed the best way to go about it.

He also wanted to be sure she was taken care of if anything should happen to him. He already had a very large trust fund set up for Bae, and he would get that when he turned twenty-five regardless, but he had shifted things so Belle would get the rest. If anything did happen to him he knew she would take care of Bae for him, had not one doubt in his mind that she would do anything other than take care of his son in every way she could. This was really the main reason he had worked so hard for her to get custody in the first place, and why they were currently waiting for the documentation for adoption to be processed so there would be no more to be said about the thing. He didn't want his son shipped back to Scotland with no legal way to get back to a place he now considered home. He didn't want him neglected and ignored by his mother, and he didn't want him anywhere near this Killian character, who was in no way a safe individual.

Oh, Mila had thrown a righteous fit when she found out about it, and he only told her because Belle insisted she needed to know, but he refused to bend. Bae deserved to be where he was happy, and if he was happy here in Storybrooke with Belle then that was where he would stay regardless of what happened to him. And he hadn't been utterly unreasonable. He had told his ex-wife he was more than willing to allow her to come see her son whenever she wanted. He refused to keep Bae from her despite the years of torment she had put him through in the exact same position, which was for his son's benefit as opposed to hers, but so far she hadn't even attempted to see him. The most she had done since he got here nearly a year ago was call him over the holiday, although she hadn't spent more than five minutes on the phone with him. He hadn't even known about the call until Belle informed him after he got home from the shop and told him she had been trying to distract Bae from the event for the previous two hours. He had no idea what Mila had said to him, and Bae refused to give him details, but whatever it was had upset his son badly. He rather suspected Mila had said something nasty about him, or Belle, and Bae was either so upset by it or embarrassed that he didn't want to say. He didn't push the issue, hoping his son would talk to him if he needed to.

So, with his son's immediate future decided and stabilized he had turned his attention to his wife, although he could never fully forget Bae. He had put a request in his will that when she passed, hopefully when she was a hundred and thirty having lived a full and happy life, that the rest of the money be given to Bae and any family that he had. He was equally sure she would honor this request. Having been meticulous in this legal documentation, as it was possibly some of the most important he had ever drawn up, he wanted it finalized as soon as possible. It would make him feel better, and when she found out help her feel completely financially secure, possibly for the first time in her life. Not that he thought he was going anywhere anytime soon, but it was always good to be prepared.

But aware of none of this she huffed at him, knowing he was being purposefully evasive and not liking that one bit. "Why won't you tell me?" He smiled slightly, because he did love to tease her despite her current ill humor, and was amused he'd gotten under her skin so easily. "You're so annoying sometimes." She informed him.

He chuckled and left his bag long enough to walk over to her. Leaning down he kissed the top of her head, since she refused to lift her head up for him to kiss her on the lips since he was being obstinate and apparently should not be rewarded for such behavior. "I'll be back Sunday morning assuming the roads are clear." He promised, trying to mollify her.

"Why can't Bae and I come with you?" She asked petulantly. "I'm sure we can entertain one another while you're busy doing whatever mysterious thing you're set on doing."

He titled his head a little as he watched her. He had been to Boston alone any number of times since she had moved in with him and this had never bothered her before. Not even when Bae first got here and she was all but forced to take care of him as he got settled, which he knew had been stressful for her. There was something else going on here. "Why is this bothering you so much?" He asked after a moment. "I've been away longer than this before and you never minded." She stubbornly refused to answer, but he saw her expression fill with anxiety. That set his alarms off. Belle wasn't normally an anxious person. And even when something did upset her she tended to go take care of whatever the problem was or brush it off rather than dwell on it, with the notable exclusion of her father's death, which was an exceptional circumstance. At that look, with those big blue eyes of hers flashing with apprehension if not downright dread, all his annoyance with her behavior melted away. Using his cane to help him he carefully knelt down in front of her so they were at the same level. It hurt his leg a bit to do so, but he saw that it won him some points back. "What's the matter, dearie?"

"I just don't see why this is so important. The roads are bad. Something might happen to you."

He watched her, still baffled by this odd new mindset of hers. "Nothing is going to happen." He assured her. "It's only a two hour drive and the snow hasn't started yet."

That didn't make her feel any better. Reaching out he rubbed her arm to try to reassure her, making a guess at what was going on but not sure if it was even close to right. The only thing he could think of was that she didn't feel up to taking care of Bae right at this moment in time. "Are you still sick, dearie?"

"No." She said, reaching out to straighten his tie with flicking, nervous fingers. "I told you I'm fine."

He wasn't fully convinced even if she had appeared recovered since midmorning. "You also told me that when you were getting violently ill in the bathroom this morning, and last night, and the day before that."

She rolled her eyes, pretending this was irrelevant. "I'm fine, Russell. It was just mild food poisoning."

"Oh, aye." He agreed sarcastically. He was pretty sure she had thrown up everything save her shoes since she came in from work the day before yesterday. He had no doubt she had salmonella poisoning. "I can't believe you ate cookies a class full of six year olds made you as part of their school assignment. I doubt even half of them were cooked." She had brought a few home to show him, delighted and wanting to show off the gift, and after picking one up that he assumed was supposed to have a icing smiley face on it, but looked more like a Picasso piece, it fell apart in a gooey heap in his hand. He threw the lot away at once, after assuring her they were a lovely idea at the very least. He had been convinced Bae would eat one and get sick, only to find that his soft hearted wife had already consumed at least half a dozen at work in a show of thankful support of the children's endeavors and was the one to pay the price. He had done his level best not to mention how stupid that had been as she threw up, thinking that was all the lesson she needed.

"It was a very sweet thought." She informed him. "They didn't have to make me anything for the field trip."

"You're too nice for your own good." He told her as he squeezed his arm. "So if it's not that what is it?"

"Nothing." She said quietly, pulling her hands back. All at once she looked very tired, drained. He couldn't understand that, because she had been sleeping like the dead the last few days, barely even stirring through the night the way she usually did. He hadn't even had to defend his portion of the bedding since Monday. "I'm being silly. I know you'll be back soon."

Unconvinced by this sudden agreement he stayed where he was. "You really are a terrible liar, dearest."

Leaning forward she kissed him and he returned the affection at once. "It's really nothing for you to worry about." She told him when she pulled away. "It can wait a few days."

He didn't like the sound of that at all. "Has Regina been bothering you again?" He demanded.

"No." She assured him. "Not in the last few months at any rate."

Why? Why could Regina not leave well enough alone? He had warned her away from Belle over a year ago now. She should not be bothering her at all. He could see he would have to start making regular trips to her office in order to brutalize her into submission. It was rather an unpleasant affair, but for Belle it would cause him no remorse and he hardly minded the waste of energy for her. "She shouldn't be bothering you at all." He told her firmly. "I'll take care of that when I get back."

"I can handle Regina." She informed him without much worry. "I actually feel bad for her. I think she must be terribly lonely. It's no wonder she's so angry all the time."

He pecked her on the lips. "Stop being nice." He ordered her. "Are you sure everything is all right?"

She nodded, although he still wasn't fully convinced. He was even less so when she leaned forward and hugged him a tad too tightly for it to be a normal embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back soothingly, now on edge himself. "You should go before the snow starts." She told him. "Be careful, okay? I just have a bad feeling."

He patted her and leaned away. He locked his eyes with hers and she smiled at him, her normal personality sparking behind the other things at last, although the nervousness was still very prominent. Reaching up he rubbed her cheek in a gentle and now practiced manner. "We'll talk when I get home, Belle, all right?"

"All right." She agreed, giving him a strained, but real smile at last.

He kissed her one more time before getting up, a dull ache racing up his leg as he put a little too much weight on it. She didn't bother him about leaving again, actually got up to help him pack, and he was ready five minutes later. When everything was in it he caught her as she wandered by and pulled her against him. He kissed her warmly and she melted against him, relaxing at last. When he broke away from her he tried to set her at ease. "I love you."

She nodded and hugged him again. "I love you too."

Returning the hug he finally let her go, afraid to wait any longer to get going. Closing the small case he picked it up and headed down the stairs with her following behind him, turning the light in the bedroom off as she went. Getting to the first floor he set his case by the door before going to wish his son goodbye. Bae and his friend were happily engaged in the game as he called to him. "Bae."

His son hit a button, pausing the game, and glanced over at him. "Are you leaving?"

"In a moment."

Bae got up as August, who he was quite pleased his son had become friends with as he was well behaved and stayed out of trouble, waved to him from his spot on the floor. Why they were sitting on the floor when there were couches and chairs aplenty he didn't know, but he wasn't fourteen either. His son trotted over and glanced at Belle. "Could we order pizza?"

"Sure." She said agreeably. "Does August want to spend the night?"

"Is that okay?" Bae asked her hopefully.

"As long as Marco lets him." Belle told him. "I can drop him off tomorrow morning. It seems to be our turn for a sleepover night."

Bae grinned happily. "Thanks, Belle!"

She smiled at him, although he still detected an odd exhaustion hovering around her. She hid it though, at least from Bae, and turned to him. "I'll see you Sunday. Be careful driving."

"I will be." He said, leaning in and kissing her lightly on the lips so as not to embarrass his son too badly. Bae still rolled his eyes, but it seemed more a matter of practice than anything else. "I'll see you soon, dearie."

She gave him another small smile before asking Bae a question. "I'll go order the pizza. Peppers and sausage right?"

Bae nodded eagerly, and after squeezing his hand she walked back toward the kitchen to make the call in a quiet location. When she was out of earshot he turned his attention to Bae. "I'll be back Sunday by ten at the latest."

"Okay." Bae said without worry. It was amazing how quickly his anxiety had dropped since he moved here. Bae didn't like to be left alone for long periods of time, which he understood, and the first few months living here he had spent more time with him than was at all normal. After school he had spent hours with him at the shop. While he didn't mind that at all, was overjoyed by it after their separation, a part of him still knew it was odd behavior for a boy his age. And as much as he enjoyed spending time with Bae he had been relieved when he started behaving more normally, when he started spending time with other people his age and going out for the afternoon or day with them. He was pleased his son was so resilient, and satisfied that he and Belle had set up a safe and supportive environment for him where he could feel secure.

"Stay out of trouble and try not to drive Belle out of her mind." He instructed.

Bae grinned impishly. "Where's the fun in that?"

Normally he would have given him a falsely stern look at the teasing, but he was concerned about her at the moment. So instead he was oddly serious. "I would appreciate it if you would go easy on her while I'm gone." He said. "She isn't feeling very well. I think she's still sick."

"Ugg, really?" Bae asked, looking toward the kitchen with mild concern. "That's lame."

He huffed at the very American turn of phrase. Clearly his son was integrating better than he had thought. "Just be good." He instructed. "She'll be fine in a few days."

"Yeah, all right." He agreed. "Have a good trip."

Reaching out he ruffled his hair, which Bae protested adamantly, and he chuckled. "Goodbye, Bae."

"Out of line!" He said indignantly as he tried to get his short curls back in order.

He chuckled again. "Have fun tonight." He called into the parlor. "It was nice to see you, August."

"Bye, Mr. Gold!" The other boy called as he picked his small suitcase up and left.

"Lock the door behind me, Bae." He said before leaving them to their fun. He heard the lock turn when he was out on the porch and headed to his car. Tossing the bag in the back seat he got in the car, being careful of slipping on the ice that had inevitably accumulated over the last few weeks. He needed to salt the area when he got back, but he put that aside for the moment as he was more concerned about warming his car up. It was freezing outside, it wasn't even ten degrees, and the wind chill was hardly helping. Knowing it would take at least a good ten to fifteen minutes to get the car to a hospitable temperature he simply braced himself and pulled out of the driveway.

The drive to Boston was uneventful and easy, although five miles outside the large metropolis the snow started. By the time he got to his hotel, a less prestigious one than he had taken Belle and Bae to, but still upscale, it was coming down so heavily he knew he never would have made it if he'd left any later. He was sure there would be at least a few feet on the ground by morning, and didn't even want to contemplate the drive to his lawyer's office the next day. Putting that aside as there was nothing to do, and knowing that there would be crews out plowing most of the night, he went inside. When he was settled in his room and out of his coat and gloves at last he called home to let them know he was safely in Boston. Bae answered the phone distractedly, told him he would tell Belle, and then hung up before he had a chance to say anything else. He assumed some sort of mischief was going on with the laughter in the background and shook his head, setting his phone on the small table next to his bed.

He spent the next few hours working on his laptop, taking the time he had away from home to catch up on work he had been neglecting over the last week or so. He was finding it harder and harder to keep up with his scheming with the change in his lifestyle. He found he also wasn't overly bothered by that. He would much rather spend time with Bae and Belle than hole himself up plotting, and really, he didn't see much of a reason to push anymore. He all but owned the town and had tentative plans set up to get the rest of it in the next five to ten years. All he had to do was bide his time and swoop in at the right moment to get the rest, and he was in no hurry. Why should he be in one? He had everything he had ever wanted and more. He was financially stable and had no worry about his future, Bae's future, or Bae's children's future. He had worked hard and done right by his family, even family he didn't have yet, and finally felt relaxed about the whole thing. He felt, for the first time, that he would like to slow down and enjoy life for once. He had that luxury where so many others didn't and let himself enjoy it.

By the time eleven rolled around he closed everything down and went to bed, although it was harder than he thought to fall asleep without Belle here with him. It was amazing how quickly that became normal, to have her sleeping with him, but eventually he managed all the same. He woke up on his own at six and got up and dressed. Once he was presentable he went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, thinking Belle should have become the owner of a restaurant rather than a librarian when he compared the cooking to hers, before heading out. He could tell it would take him longer than usual to navigate the snow-strewn roads. As he had predicted the ground was covered with several feet of the white fluff and the streets were only partially plowed. It hardly helped that it was still snowing lightly, keeping the plows continually busy.

He was pleased when he made it to his meeting on time, having had to change routes three times to find clear paths, and spent the next three hours going over the documentation with his lawyer to be sure it was worded properly. He would rather spend the time with a peer checking it now than to have Belle or Bae discover there was something wrong with it if he wasn't there to help. He didn't want Belle as lost as she had been after her father died, as she had let him know how very upsetting that had been for her. It quickly turned into an effort of wits that brought back nightmares of his days in law school, but finally it was done. Once completed the documents were signed and both he and his lawyer had a copy of both his will and the prenuptial agreement. Belle would still need to sign the latter, but that was easily solved and something he would take care of as soon as he got home. Thanking the other man for his help he told him to send him the bill for his services and left, satisfied with the morning.

Knowing the roads would still need a few hours of work, but suspecting they would be safe far sooner than he anticipated he decided to leave this evening instead of the next day, which he hoped would mean he would have a very pleased wife. So, having the afternoon to himself and needed to waste a few hours he did something he could honestly say he hadn't done in at least eleven years for any length of time. He went shopping. Generally when he needed something he either ordered it online, or was in and out of a store in minutes. He was also normally shopping for himself. Even over last Christmas he hadn't done much more than order things and have them delivered to his shop for Bae and Belle. Thinking of the holiday had him smiling. It had certainly been a better event than the year before. And once again the whole thing had been kicked off by another ridiculously small tree.

It turned out he was not the crazy one, as his son had the same basic reaction to the Christmas shrub as he did. Bae had taken one look at the small tree before turning to look at him with confused pity. It was clear he thought the miniscule pine was a sign of madness, but he didn't want to say that to Belle and upset her. He watched on with amusement, refusing to help either of them at all so he could see what would happen, and Belle stepped into the parlor with tea for them and hot chocolate for Bae. The teen took the drink with a thank you and she brought the tea over to him. Before he could say anything she sat down beside him on the couch and leaned into him, snuggling into his side to get comfortable so she could admire her version of Christmas cheer at her leisure. As she pulled her legs under her so she was more easily balanced he wrapped his arm loosely around her waist. His fingers brushed over her side absently as he sipped at his tea and she hummed cheerfully at having him happy she had invaded his space. Finally, Bae couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer, although he'd made it a good thirty seconds longer than he anticipated. "All right, what is this?"

He snorted and Belle sniffed with false affront. "That is a Christmas tree." She told him in a matter of fact way.

Bae looked at him for an indication that she was pulling his leg. "Is she messing with me?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, stone faced, pretending he had no idea what the problem was.

Bae eyed him. "You're both nutters." He told them as he turned to leave.

"Don't hate on my tree, Bae." Belle called after him.

"You'll never convince me that's a tree." He told her firmly. "Total weirdo you are."

He laughed and she jabbed at his ribs. He grunted but still smirked. He then surprised her by dipping down and kissing her cheek. "Are you happy with it?"

"You know I am." She told him.

"Then you be happy and we'll keep teasing you and that sad little tree."

She rolled her eyes at that and he chuckled as he settled back into the couch. He sipped at his tea and she leaned against him, and he liked that she fit against him so perfectly. She turned her attention to the pine with its twinkling lights and went still. It pleased her as much as it had the year before and he promised himself he would make this a better holiday for her than the last one had been. They sat there quite contentedly while they drank their tea and she could feel his contentment as easily as he felt hers. They had been sleeping together for six weeks at that point, and it had made a noticeable difference in his disposition. He was calmer, happier, and felt far less irritable. That was all normal of course, but he was enjoying it all the same. "What should we get Bae for Christmas?" She asked after several minutes enjoying her tree.

"He wants some sort of gaming system." He told her as Bae had not been shy about the request. He felt it had been counter productive to have bombarded him with information about it late in the evening, as he was generally tired of thinking at that point, but he had gotten an earful all the same.

"Which one?"

"I don't remember." He told her honestly, as all the numbers and letters meant absolutely nothing to him. Not that he didn't care, but without context there was no meaning.

She rolled her eyes. "You better find out so we can get the right one." She told him.

"How many can there be?" He asked.

"About six, and those are just the big name brand ones."

He sighed. Clearly he should have been paying better attention. "Of course there are."

She laughed at his exasperation over all the options. "I'll go get it if you find out what it is he wants."

"Deal." He agreed at once. Belle knew far more about electronics than he did so it would be smarter to have her get it. He had gotten her the information and then turned his attention to a few more small things Bae would like as well as what he should get her. In the end she had been an exceptionally easy person to get a gift for. It had taken him less than fifteen minutes on the Internet to get her several things he knew she would like. He ended up getting her a designer dress from a new up and coming fashion designer in New York, which she had utterly taken with the moment she opened the package Christmas morning, and an e-reader. If anything that had been an even greater success. She had fallen in love with the device after several minutes of distrust over it not having real pages or 'smelling right', but as soon as she got it working she was utterly hooked. It only helped that he got her any number of gift cards to go with it and she spent the rest of the day, or at least the parts where she wasn't cooking one of her amazingly complex meals, buying books she had been wanting and loading them onto the device as Bae ran virtual cars off roads on his new X-box.

He had found the whole holiday great fun, and the ridiculous socks Bae bought him as a gag gift humorous, and simply basked in their happiness, satisfied that he had done right by his small family. It turned out Bae wasn't the only one in the house that wasn't used to getting spoiled, because you couldn't fake the excitement that Belle had over her gifts, and he found he would like to spoil them both just a little more. Much like Belle he found it easy when it wasn't expected and was appreciated as much for the thought as the item being given. So he ignored the weather as best he could and ended up at one of the malls.

He took care of Bae first, mostly because he actually needed to get his son new clothes. Bae had grown nearly four inches in the last month and he was running out of garments that fit. The growth spurt had taken him by surprise, as he had guessed he would be about the same height for another year or so, but apparently puberty didn't much care what he thought. Belle had simply taken him to get a new pair of shoes when his were suddenly two sizes too small and they had both tried to keep up with his wardrobe. At least it explained why he had been eating enough for three people and not gaining any weight. His body had been hoarding it to use the energy to get him to grow. Five thick knit sweater and three pairs of pants later, all of which seemed neutral enough to be acceptable to his son, he left to find more interesting items. He stopped at a sporting goods store briefly and also got Bae a new pair of soccer cleats, as tryout were only about seven weeks away, and got a half size bigger than what he was currently wearing, figuring that would be about right by then and hoping for the best.

That done he walked into a jewelry store without hesitation. Belle may love her simple necklace, but it was the only jewelry she really had, short of a pair of simple gold studs she wore nearly every day. He thought she deserved a bit of choice. He spent more time in this store than the other two combined, but once the saleswoman realized he was a serious buyer, and intent on more than one high priced item she had been all patience and attentiveness. He was sure she worked on commission after the first two items he picked out, because she was positively brimming with eagerness to help him. He finally left, having dropped a substantial amount of money, but he was pleased with the look and quality of the pieces he had selected for Belle. They would certainly do her justice, although he was disappointed he hadn't found a sapphire necklace that lived up to his expectations, but there was always time to find one later.

Finished after several hours he went and got himself a late lunch before heading back to the hotel. Convinced that the streets were now clear enough to drive back he went upstairs and packed the few possessions he had brought away and put the bag in the car before checking out a night early. He drove home, the highway now completely clear and salted, and was very happy when he drove back into Storybrooke long before he had anticipated. He'd gotten everything he wanted done and then some.

His good feelings remained with him until he pulled into the driveway and saw that his front door was swinging open, with the weather dipping dangerously close to single digits. The sight, so unlike what it should be, had unease hit him and he parked quickly and got out of the car, hurrying to the house. The walkway and porch were still covered in snow, which was odd as it was one of Bae's chores to clear it away and he generally did it quickly to get it out of the way. His unease was growing exponentially as he forced his way through the nearly knee deep snow and he hurried up the porch steps, nearly falling as they were hidden and slick, and finally got to the door. Pushing it open he heard the heater running full blast, trying to beat the cold out, but unable to succeed against deep winter. Disturbingly, it was the only sound.

Going to the table by the front door quickly he opened the drawer he flatly forbid Bae from getting into and pulled out the one gun he had in the house. Holding it tightly he stepped farther into his home, searching for his family, and when he turned into the parlor his heart stopped. The place was in shambles. Furniture was overturned, the television had been knocked over and broken, one of his cabinets had been overturned and there were broken ceramics and objects strewn halfway across the room that had spilled out of it mixing with the glass from the broken television. And then he spotted a single, familiar, kitten heeled shoe lying among the broken antiques and his blood simply went cold. "Bae!" He shouted loudly. "Belle!" There was no answer and he became truly frantic. "_Bae! Belle!_" His only answer was silence and terror colder than the wind blowing into the house flowed from his chest to his limbs. "Dearies?" He called, quieter, knowing now there would be no answer, knowing that they weren't here, knowing they were gone and he had no idea where they could be, only that something horrible had happened here while he was gone.

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter! That was awesome! I hope everyone is now ready for some excitement!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

There was an odd painful pounding in her head and a horrible rolling in her stomach. That was really all she could understand for a few seconds, her eyes too heavy to open and her body unresponsive to what she was asking it to do. She hurt, her body throbbing at her, and slowly she realized the pounding wasn't just inside her head. Someone was banging hard on something nearby. Struggling hard, because she had the nagging feeling that something was wrong, she got her eyes open, but was confused by what she saw. The light was low, although it wasn't fully dark, and she saw unfamiliar swirling patterns in the wood planking in front of her face. Disoriented, she turned her head slightly and realized she had been facing a corner, which had made it far more difficult for her eyes to process what was going on correctly. She ended up looking at the ceiling of whatever strange place she was, more by chance than planning, and the loud thud sounded again.

She shifted, wanting to push herself over, but quickly discovered that her arms were tied tightly behind her back. The moment she realized that her wrists began to throb and she was sure her circulation was being cut off by what she suspected was thick, coarse rope. Some of her senses came back and she moved her legs, only to find those were tied too. All at once the memories came back in a rush and she recalled all too quickly what had happened, if not where she was. She had returned from dropping August off at home, having left Bae at the house since he was still waking up and she saw no reason to drag him out in the cold for the ten minutes she would be gone. August had yawned the whole way back to his father's house, since both of them had been up all night playing video games, and she was at least grateful they'd kept the noise down so she could sleep. That, or she was so tired she hadn't heard them making noise at all.

She had made sure August was safely in the house, going in to talk to Marco for a moment and assure him his son had been no trouble. They had chatted amicably for a few minutes, sharing pleasantries, before she headed back to the house, having been gone for no more than fifteen minutes. As she pulled into the driveway she realized she needed to get it cleared, not to mention the sidewalk, although it was still snowing rather hard. Figuring she could get Bae to help her later in the day once he was awake and the snow fully stopped, she went back in the house. Humming a little, and having a small dream of a piece of jam coated toast, she called to Bae as she shook out of her coat and hung it up in the closet. "Bae, I need to run to the grocery store today once the snow's been cleared out more. We're all out of milk." She projected her voice because she had no idea where he was in the house. Shutting the closet she continued, heading toward the parlor, guessing he might be there. "Do you want to come with me or-" She stopped talking abruptly when she stepped into the room and saw Bae sitting on the couch rebelliously, gagged, with his hands behind his back, being held down by a man she had never seen before. Bae was still in his sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt he had slept in, his feet bare, and one of them bleeding rather badly. She noted that the TV had been knocked over, along with one of the couches, and could only assume he had been cut by some glass in whatever struggle had occurred when she was gone.

The man holding him was tall, at least three inches over six feet, and was dressed all in black. His dark hair was cut short, stylishly so, and his blue eyes glinted with dark humor. He had a short beard, neatly trimmed, and well defined features. He was fit, his frame no doubt purposefully accentuated by his clothing, and by the look of his calloused hands he was strong. He was, she had to admit, dangerously handsome, although the key concept there certainly was the danger. Silence fell between them as she took this in, her mind racing with fear at this sight and trying to come up with a plan. "You really have to keep reminding this one to lock the door, love." He said, and she was momentarily thrown by the Irish accent, having never actually heard anyone from that particular part of the world speak in real life before and having not expected it at all. "He's always been terribly forgetful that way." Bae snarled something around the gag, surging up all at once, but the man pushed him down with relative ease, having both size and leverage on the teenager. "Enough now, lad. I don't want to hurt you. You're mother would be cross with me for it."

It took her only a moment to figure out who this was. "You must be the thief." She said in way of letting him know she wasn't overly intimidated by him.

He gave her a roguish smile and a mocking half bow. "Killian Jones as it were." He replied easily. "And you must be Belle." She said nothing and he continued. "I imagined you would be, well, less appealing to look at honestly."

She didn't even address that. "Let him go." She demanded.

He seemed amused by her. Finding it humorous that she was standing up to him. "After all the trouble I went to? Afraid I can't do that."

She pursed her lips, a plan forming, although she admitted it wasn't all that good of one and no doubt doomed to fail. "What do you want with him?" She asked. "Money?"

He laughed. "Money? I don't want money. I can get money whenever I need it. It's not actually that hard." He ruffled Bae's hair, which only enraged the teen further. "I promised this one's mother I would bring him back to her, back home."

"He is home." She snapped, her anger getting the best of her. How dare this man break into her home and do this? "If his mother wanted him in Scotland she should have kept him there in the first place. And if she wanted to see him all she had to do was come here herself."

He lost all good humor. "Gold, nasty bastard that he is, stole him from Mila. I'm stealing him back."

"He didn't steal anything!" She said angrily, edging forward. "Bae came here because he wanted to! Because the two of you ignored and abandoned him!"

"I didn't come here to debate with you, love. I came here to get him."

"You aren't leaving this house with him." She told him with more conviction than she'd ever had about anything.

"I'm afraid I am." He told her. "But there's no need to say goodbye yet. You're coming too."

Bae yelled around the gag and surged up again, twisting a he did, this time slipping out from under Killian's hand and head butting him in his midriff as hard as he could, something she was sure he'd learned in soccer practice. The older man was knocked off balance and Bae rushed him again, clearly having speed on the other man if nothing else. The force of it slammed Killian into one of the cabinets Gold had scattered throughout the house and Bae simply kept pushing, no doubt gaining strength from the adrenaline coursing through his body. The shock of the sudden move wore off quickly and she ran forward to help, throwing herself bodily into the fray because there was nothing else to do and honestly this was a much better plan than she had been trying to come up with. The added force had the delicate cupboard breaking to pieces as Killian's body broke through the glass and wood framing. The moment he was off balance she grabbed Bae and shoved him to the side as she leapt to the other. The sudden loss of force had the cabinet bouncing off the wall and falling in the opposite direction as Killian tried to escape it, and she grabbed the side of the furniture as the man stumbled, using all the power she had to throw it forward and over him. The cupboard toppled over the man, knocking him down to the ground and pinning him there, at least momentarily, as it covered his legs.

She made a frantic motion for Bae. "Come on!"

Bae leapt over Killian, and the mess of objects, only to have the man snag his ankle. Unable to catch his balance with his hands tied behind his back he fell to the ground hard. Letting out a shout of rage she rushed forward and slammed the heel of her shoe into his hand with all the force she could muster. Killian let out a shout of pain and released Bae, who scrambled away. As she tried to haul him up Killian grabbed at her, but only managed to catch her shoe, which she simply stepped out of, although it twisted her ankle at an unnatural angle. Not bothering to look back or worry about that she shoved Bae forward. "Get to the car!"

They made it out of the parlor as Killian struggled to get up, and she heard the remains of the cabinet being hurled off him. Still, they only needed a few seconds head start and they had that now. She kept pushing Bae forward and turned her head to see how close Killian was to getting up as they ran into the hall. It was a mistake. No sooner did she slow down to look than something hit her from behind, driving her sideways into the wall. She let out a small shout right before a cloth slammed over her nose and mouth. She smelled something sweet as she gasped, her body going slack. She slumped to the floor, unable to get her body to work, and heard a snarled cursing from the parlor. Recognizing that she had just breathed in something horrible she tried to hold her breath, clinging to consciousness tenaciously. She heard another muffled shout from Bae and then a struggle, with Killian telling him to settle down so they wouldn't have to hurt her. Before she could work out who 'they' might be she felt a sharp stab in her arm as a needle was pressed into it, and then there was only darkness.

Snapping back to the present she realized she had no idea what had happened to her since then, or her stepson. That had her thinking again in a hurry, shoving the confusion and lingering shadows away. "Bae?" She called, her voice hoarse with panic.

The banging stopped abruptly and she forced herself to her side, although it hurt her arms to do so. She spotted Bae scooting toward her, as he was also tied up as although his gag was gone, and realized he had been banging his body against the door on the other side of the room from where she had been placed in an effort to get out. "Belle? Are you okay?"

"I think so." She said, although her body hurt and she couldn't feel her hands all that well. She was also deeply terrified that the chloroform, or what she thought was chloroform as she could think of nothing else that would knock her out that way, may have done something nearly unspeakable to the secret she was now carrying around with her. She tried not to contemplate what the shot had been, because if she did she might well unravel. "Did he hurt you?"

"Not as much as you." He said, no doubt referring to her getting knocked out and trussed up. She saw real anger in his eyes. "Bastard."

"I have to say I agree." She said as she struggled to sit up. "But don't curse. It isn't very polite."

Bae rolled his eyes in exasperation as he did his best to help her up. "You're even worse than papa."

"I try." She said, managing to get upright with the help of his shoulder shoving. Her head was still foggy, but was getting sharper by the moment. "Where are we? And who else was in the house?" She asked, taking in the strange room and knowing someone other than Killian had knocked her out. The whole thing was made of wood and looked very old. There were beams all over, and wood planking, and an old bunk that had been stripped. There was also some sort of weird looking box against one wall with a large leather mesh over the top. She also saw a few more ropes on the wall, and two oars hanging from the ceiling so they were out of the way. It looked like a movie set from _Moby Dick_.

"I don't know who she was. Some older lady. And we're on Killian's boat, the _Jolly Rodger_." He told her. "It's ancient." He continued, seeing her puzzled expression, because when Bae had mentioned that Jones had a boat this really wasn't what she had imagined. "He spent years restoring it. I think he got it from an old nautical museum that had to shut down, or he stole it." He finished.

"Are you telling me he sailed here from Europe in this thing in the middle of winter?" She asked with disbelief. She found that far harder to believe than him having apparently teamed up with Cora as she couldn't think of anyone else that would want to kidnap her and fit the description Bae had given her. "In an antique ship?"

"He's really good at sailing." Bae told her, annoyed that he was impressed with anything having to do with Killian. "And navigating. He's like one of those people that have never seen a piano before and then just sit down and start playing Beethoven. It's like he's talking to the ocean or something, or it's talking to him and he can understand what it says."

Great, he was a ship savant. That was just wonderful. "We need to get out of here." She told him, doing her best to stay calm. "Can you get the ship back to land?"

"I don't have to." Bae told her. "We're still at the docks."

She began to try to get her wrists free, twisting and turning them as they spoke, hurting herself further, but not caring. "Are you sure?" She asked, some hope returning to her. If they were still at the docks it was a huge problem they didn't have to deal with.

"Yeah." Bae told her. "The boat keeps brushing against it. I don't know how much longer we're going to be here though. I heard them talking after he brought us here. That woman thinks someone will find us soon, even with the weather as bad as it is. She wants us to move. They've been arguing off and on about it for hours. I think she left though."

She wasn't so sure about the we part. "Bae, I don't think they're going to keep us together if they move. I'm pretty sure Killian only came here to get you. He wants to take you back to Scotland, or wherever your mother is. I think that woman must have given him something so he would help catch me too."

"Then what happens to you?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "But my best guess is I'm being held for ransom." She yanked at the rope harder. "Cora wants your father's money."

"For what?"

"Election funds." She was annoyed by this whole thing, couldn't even believe what this was really about.

"We actually got kidnapped for that?" He asked incredulously.

"Welcome to politics." She agreed. "But we can worry about the state of the democratic process later." She finally noted that the side of the bunk made a nice, sharp corner. She began to scoot toward it and settled with her back to it, starting to rub the ropes against the wood quickly to try to break through them. While she was sure this would work, it was going to take some time and she began to saw away as quickly as possible. "I'll get us out of here, Bae, don't worry."

They were both quiet for awhile after that, and she hoped the silence didn't alert their captors that they were busy trying to escape. After a few minutes, where she believed she was making progress and finally realized that the rocking was actually the ship and not her head hurting, Bae spoke. "I'm sorry, Belle."

"For what?" She asked distractedly as she tried to free herself from the binding.

"Getting you in this mess with me."

"Bae, you aren't responsible for what other people do." She told him with firm sincerity. "This isn't your fault, and it isn't my fault, and it isn't Russell's fault. You haven't done anything to be sorry for."

"Killian is only here because of me."

She sighed. "Killian is here because he cares for your mother and wants to make her happy. Your mother loves you and wants you back. Your father loves you and wants you to stay. So as crazy and awful as this whole situation is I would really like you to keep in mind that the reason we're here is because you're loved."

Bae sat quietly in front of her for several long moments and she gave him a tight smile, wanting him to feel better, to not be afraid even though this was a terrifying situation. "My mother doesn't love me." He said quietly.

"Oh, Bae." She said gently. "Of course she does."

"No, she doesn't." Bae said, trying to hide his hurt and sadness. "She only wanted me because she knew what it did to papa. I used to beg to see him and she wouldn't let me. Then she would leave me alone in the house for days, or disappear for weeks and I wouldn't know where she went or when she was coming back. You don't do that to people you love. You don't abandon them, or send them away, or ignore them, or use them to hurt other people."

She didn't like him thinking this way at all. "It's hard for some people to show that they care."

"She's never told me she loves me." Bae told her, and she wondered why he was confiding in her of all people instead of his father. "Not one time. She never even tried to pretend she did." All at once one of the ropes broke apart behind her and the whole thing loosened enough for her to get her hands free. She shook out of the rope as they spoke. "She's only doing this now to hurt him more." Pulling her hands forward she shook them, trying to get feeling back in them so she could get her feet free, and then Bae. He was far less excited about her getting her hands loose than he should be, and he kept talking. "You would never do that to papa. Even if you got divorced I know you would never keep the baby away from him because you love him, and you'll love it the way a mother is supposed to. You'll never do what my mother does."

She froze, badly startled and staring at him. He watched her back, looking sad and calm all at once. "How do you know about the baby?" She whispered. She hadn't told anyone yet, not even Russell, because she was still working out exactly how to do that. She had only known, for sure, for a week. She had rather suspected for a few days longer than that, but had convinced herself that it couldn't be. In truth, it very much could be, and was. They hadn't been very careful, or careful at all, and logically she knew that any couple that was doing what they were doing, as often as they were without worry of consequences was going to end up this way. Then she had started getting sick, had been for three days before the cookie incident and he hadn't noticed, which she was using as a way to buy some time. She had had other signs too. She was two weeks late on her cycle, deeply exhausted, and felt jittery to the point of panic for hours on end. She'd also had to completely stop eating meat and drinking coffee, because in this state both of those things were trying to turn her digestive system inside out. She felt it unfair that her body had been hijacked in such a manner, but on another level, a deeper level, she would gladly allow the baby anything it needed from her. If that meant she had to be a vegan for the next few months that was fine with her.

What she wasn't sure was fine was how Russell would feel about this when he found out. He had never made any indication that he wanted another child. And he was older than her, maybe too old to want another baby. If she were honest with herself she was terrified that it would be worse than him not wanting it. What she was really afraid of was that he would ask her not to have it at all, and she simply couldn't do that. While she would be the first to admit to a life long disinterest in ever having a child of her own, now that she was pregnant, now that she knew it was his and hers at once, she was entirely, wholly devoted to it. And he had been right all those months ago, not all family was blood, but the baby inside her was and she couldn't do anything but love it right down to her very core. It would be hers, her family, and a part of it, a small part it might be true, would be her father and her mother as well. It would be part of him, and part of Bae, and how with all those parts could she not already be in love with it?

So she had stalled. She had stalled since she had discreetly stolen a pregnancy test out of Ruby's room a week ago to be sure. She would have simply gone to the pharmacy, but she knew it would be around town in a heartbeat and wanted to let Russell know first. And her friend, for all her nonsense with the opposite sex was always careful. She had a small container of the tests ready, just in case something went wrong with her birth control and she needed to check herself. She was sure Ruby wouldn't notice one missing. Ever since the little pink lines had shown up she had been trying to work out how to tell him, how to bring it up, how to make him as happy about this as she was. She had wanted to tell him this weekend, had finally worked up the courage, and he had gone and frolicked off to Boston. When he told her she nearly went off the deep end, which logically she knew was ridiculous, but her hormones didn't really give a damn about logic. All her hormones cared about was her spouse going away when he should be right with her where everything was safe and normal. It had upset her so much that he had to notice, but she had lost her nerve when he asked, even when the perfect opportunity to tell him had been right in front of her. And now here they were, kidnapped, on a boat, and Russell at least another day from being home. She had no idea what might happen in that timeframe, or if anyone else would even know they'd gone missing. They were on their own and she needed to get them out of here.

"You have morning sickness." Bae answered. "And you can't eat the foods you normally do." He fidgeted. "And you keep smelling weird things. We've been talking about it in health class for the last three weeks. It's like they wrote that chapter in our book about you."

This wasn't at all how she had wanted him to find out. He was far too smart for his own good, and she had never hated a book as much as the one he was talking about right at this moment because it had completely derailed her whole, half thought out and careful plan of letting him know he was going to be a brother. "I was going to tell you, Bae." She told him with sincere apology. "I only found out last week. I needed some time to work out how to let you know."

"You could have just said." He told her.

She nodded her head, knowing he was right, and Bae shifted uncomfortably as he sat in front of her. She got her feet free and tossed the rope away before attacking the one's around his hands. They said nothing else until he was free and then she reached out and hugged him on impulse. She had never done that before, had never initiated a hug since she was never sure if he would want that or not. He had hugged her twice; both times had been spontaneous and followed by blushing and awkwardness on his part as he waited for either acceptance or rejection. She had always accepted, always, and he had relaxed a bit around her. When she pulled away a little she looked right into his eyes so there would be no misunderstanding and spoke quietly. "You're right." She told him. "I should have told you, but I got scared and was thinking about me and not you. That wasn't right or fair of me. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to keep secrets from you."

A lot of his upset faded away. "I'm scared too." He told her in a surprising display of honesty for a teenaged boy.

She frowned. "Of what?"

He looked down at his bare feet uncomfortably and she saw he now had a bandaged on the one he had hurt. "That you won't want me now that you're going to have your own baby."

"That's ridiculous." She told him with real disbelief. Reaching out she shook him a little so he would look at her. "Bae, that's crazy. I will always want you. Always. Until the day I die I will want you. And so you know, in case you didn't, I love you. I know it's not the same… I know I'm not your mother, but I do." She searched his face. "Okay?"

"Okay." He said, his voice a little shaky.

She smiled at him and squeezed his arms briefly. "Now, I think it's time we got out of here."

"Yeah." He agreed as they stood up. She rubbed at her wrists, her hands tingling as the blood started flowing again, and she went to inspect the door. It was closed and locked and she tried the handle, shaking at the door but not having it budge. "It's a deadbolt." Bae told her. "It won't open."

She was quiet for a moment as she looked the problem over. He was right, the deadbolt wasn't going to budge. Unfortunately, before she could think of anything else she heard footsteps and grabbed Bae. She sat him down next to the door, making a shushing motion, and grabbed the ropes. She shoved one behind him, pushing his hands behind him, and draped the other around his ankles quickly. He gave her an odd look and she whispered quickly. "As soon as I distract him run! Don't you dare stop running, Bae!"

Then she scrambled back to the other side of the cabin, knowing she needed to draw Killian as far from Bae as possible, snatching up the ropes that had been around her as she went. Throwing herself down in the corner she had woken up in she just managed to toss the rope around her own ankles and put her wrists behind her back before the door opened. Bae was watching her with growing horror as he realized what she wanted him to do, when he realized she was asking him to leave her here so he could get away. For her part she glared up at Killian who was standing at his ease in the doorway. This was problematic as Bae needed to get through the doorway to get out. "Good to see you up, love. How was your nap?"

"Nothing is as refreshing as being drugged and kidnapped." She said sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Well, I can at least see why the old man likes you. You've got spunk."

She raised her eyebrow. "Dare I ask what my price tag is?"

"None of my business." He told her. "I'm only the delivery man."

"And what's the delivery fee?" She asked.

He gave her that annoyingly roguish smile again, stepping into the room, and she kept trying to draw him farther in, to keep him distracted and his back to where Bae was. The teen sent her a look, helpless, but understanding what he had to do, and held himself still, knowing Killian would see him if he moved too soon and the whole thing would be a bust. "I did this out of the goodness of my heart."

"The goodness of you heart?" She asked with disbelief. "I think it's safe to say it's rotten." He smirked and she went on. "And I think we both know nothing is free. So what did you really get?"

He took another step and she shifted her feet subtly, as if to get more comfortable, but Bae understood. As Killian talked to her the teen eased out the open door silently and vanished. Relief coursed through her in a rush, before she realized she needed to keep him talking and then get herself out too. "You should know that as well as anyone."

"What?"

He watched her smugly. "What did he give you to marry him? I would really love to know. What's worth a green card now a day?"

"Is that what Cora told you?" She asked. "That he gave me something?"

"No need to play coy, love." He said, amused all over again. "We all know you have some sort of deal with him. What kind of trouble did he get you out of? How much did he give you to do it?"

"He gave me what most honest men do when they marry. He gave me a home, friendship, and respect."

He huffed. "Oh, no on reflects those qualities better than Gold." He shook his head. "He's about as warm as a hungry crocodile. He has about that much empathy as well."

"Don't pretend like you know him." She said.

He came closer, crouching down right in front of her, and as much as she didn't want him near her she couldn't have been happier to have all his interest on her. "Do you know him?" He asked quietly. "Do you really know who he is?"

"He's a good man. His heart is true."

He gave her a pitying laugh. "His heart is true is it?" He asked. "He's ruthless. Far more ruthless than me."

"I think it's safe to say he's never kidnapped anyone's wife!" She snapped.

"Kidnapped, well maybe not, but he certainly has enjoyed someone else's wife." She was thrown by that and frowned. Killian tutted. "Didn't tell you that did he?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He and Cora had quite the affair a few years back. It really left her marriage in shambles and he walked away like nothing happened. And you wonder why Regina dislikes you so. After he destroyed her parent's marriage… well turn about is fair play." She tried not to show the hurt that brought her. That he had lied when he was pretending to share with her. Killian saw it anyway. "Not so true after all is he?"

"He is a good man." She insisted, refusing to waver, refusing to allow him the satisfaction.

"He would do anything to hold onto his power. _Anything_. Cora is convinced he'll give his money up for you, but I'm not so sure about that. Not when that gives him the only thing he's ever really cared about. He's left one person after another for it, even his son, abandoned him in a different country. Now what makes you think you're any different? Tell me, darling, why would you want to fight for a man like that?"

"He didn't abandon Bae." She said firmly, knowing that was true if nothing else ever was. "His mother wouldn't let him see him."

"Did you ever ask yourself why that might be?" He asked. "Did you, lad?" She was still, keeping her eyes on his, and after several seconds where he got no answer he turned his head to see nothing but a few ropes where Bae had been a few minutes ago. "Son of a bitch!" He yelled as he surged to his feet, forgetting all about her with Bae gone. She was up fast enough to slow him down.

Reaching up to an oar hanging from the ceiling she called to him. "Killian!"

He turned his head just in time for her to swing the oar forward and nail him in the temple. He let out a shout as he was thrown forward and ended up crashing into the leather mesh over the odd box. She heard a rip and then he vanished from sight. Not bothering to see what he had fallen into she bolted out of the room after Bae as fast as she could with her twisted ankle. She spotted a set of stairs at once and scrambled up them, bent over so as not to slam her head on the sloping ceiling. When she broke out into the open the breath was neatly sucked out of her body by the blinding cold, but she kept moving, ignoring that her stockings were no substitute for shoes, her second one having gone missing at some point, and were covered in a layer of wet snow in less than five seconds. Her spirits were buoyed when she saw another set of footprints headed for the side of the ship and she followed those as quickly as she could. She was three feet from the railing along the boat when Jones was simply right in front of her.

Letting out a cry she backpedaled, loosing her balance between wet snow, twisted ankle, and poor coordination. She scrambled up as quickly as she could but she could easily see that she wasn't going to get away as easily as Bae had. Killian had her out in the open, she couldn't run far, and now he was angry. All she could do now was start stalling for time again, praying that Bae was far away by this point and going to get some help. "How did you- how did you-"

"I know this ship like the back of my hand." He showed her one of them, the one she had stepped on, and she saw that it was badly bruised. "Now this wasn't very nice."

"You shouldn't have tried to take Bae." She told him defiantly. "Gold won't let you get away with this and you won't be able to hide from him."

"Time will tell which one of us gets away, love." He said as he got closer to her. She stood her ground, refusing to allow him to see that she was scared. "And right now, things aren't looking so good for you." Before she could say anything he had pulled back the bruised hand he had up between them and swung, backhanding her hard across the face. She felt a startling burst of pain, and then there was nothing.

Author's Note: Did you really thing that I would simply fix a cliffhanger? Wrong! You get another cliffhanger! I'm mean that way


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Beside himself with fear he paced in circles around the sheriff's department. David Nolen was making rapid-fire calls to all the surrounding towns while simultaneously sending missing person's bulletins out over the law enforcement databases. That gave him little comfort as he had no real idea what had happened to his family. All he knew for sure was that his house had been broken into and there had been blood on the floor. Blood… he didn't know who's blood. He didn't know why there was blood, but there had been blood and he didn't care what Nolen said about it not being enough to show there was more than a small cut present, let alone enough for a serious injury. He also didn't give a damn that the other man had told him to stay at the house six times in case they came home, which was really just a nice way to keep him out of Nolen's way. Staying at the house wasn't helpful. Finding Bae and Belle was what mattered and he had no intention of being in the way. He did however have every intention of finding his son and wife.

The other man hung the phone up and he snapped at him. "At any point are you going to actually go out and look for them?"

David, who was already standing, was calm in the face of his snarling. "Gold, I have to be sure other people know that they're missing in case they've already been taken out of town. We don't know who did this and we don't know why. And our time frame for them vanishing is nearly twelve hours now. I need help with this."

"I've already bloody told you who to talk to!" He snarled.

"And as far as anyone knows Cora Mills hasn't been seen in Storybrooke in the last three months. You heard me call the police department where she lives. They promised to send someone out immediately."

"I need _you_ out immediately!" He yelled, his temper utterly gone. "My family is gone! _Gone!_ At least one of them is hurt and I don't even know how badly!"

"Gold-" The other man interrupted, trying to get him to settle down. "You need to calm down."

He slammed his cane into the side of his desk, sending several things toppling off it from the force. "What if it was Emma?" He demanded. "Or Mary Margaret? Would you be in here making phone calls?"

"Yes, I would." David said, his own voice rising slightly as he leaned over the desk, one of his hands flat over it as he showed he was not intimidated by him, although he wasn't yelling. "Because I would want to be sure other people were looking for them too, not just me. Now, you need to either let me do my job or I'm going to put you in one of those cells. This was a kidnapping. I'm not going to pretend it wasn't. But if you don't calm down I will consider it an obstruction of justice. I have a feeling you don't want to be behind bars."

He tried to gather himself back together, because even in the state he was in he could see fighting with the sheriff was counterproductive. Getting put in a cell might mean never seeing his wife or son again. "Indeed not."

"Good." David said, noting that he was pulling his self-control back together and allowing him to do so, straightening up as a physical way to indicated they were not enemies. "Now, let's do this right so we can get them home. Why do you think Regina's mother would kidnap them?"

"She made it clear that she wanted my money for a campaign. She isn't the kind of woman to take no for an answer."

"All right." He said calmly. "Fine, but how do you propose one older woman managed to not only disable a healthy, athletic teenaged boy, but also another younger, healthy woman? Not to mention get them out of the house?"

"I would think a gun would be motivational." He said with agitation, beginning to circle around again at the very thought.

"If she threatened them with a gun there wouldn't have been signs of a struggle, certainly not as big of one as we found, and it also doesn't explain how anyone started bleeding since there weren't any shell casings or signs that a gun went off in the house."

He processed that quickly and was annoyed with himself for not having seen something so glaringly obvious from the start. "There was someone else helping."

"At least one more assuming it was Cora to start with." Nolen agreed. "Which complicates things because I don't know who else-"

He was cut off by a loud bang toward the front of the building. He jerked his head around at the sound of the front door being slammed open with no little force, enraged that they were being interrupted by anything right now, and David was already taking a step toward the ruckus. His rage was quickly replaced with resounding, bone deep elation when the most wonderful sound he'd ever heard reached his ears. "_Sheriff Nolen!_" Bae shouted hoarsely.

"_Bae!_" He yelled back, rushing forward, nearly loosing his footing as he forgot to put his weight on his cane, an item he had lived with for decades.

There was a brief pause before his son's hopeful voice filled his heart with such relief he nearly collapsed where he stood. "Papa?"

He rushed forward and Bae met him in the hall, a foot outside of the main part of the department. He let out a strangled sound of want and relief, grabbing at his son the moment he was in range and hugging him tightly to him. Bae barely let him get a grip on him, they were in fact still being effected by the motion of moving toward one another so quickly, before he broke out of his hold and began to drag him toward the door. "We have to get Belle! He's going to hurt her now!"

"What?" He asked, alarmed, and only just noticing that Bae had no shoes, his sweatpants that he knew very well he only wore to sleep in were soaked to the knee, and he was shivering like crazy. Belle was also nowhere to be seen and what his son said had a whole new wave of fear crashing over him, covering up the relief of seeing Bae alive and well.

Nolen grabbed at him, trying to slow him down. "Bae, stop for a second. What's going on? What happened?"

Bae simply grabbed David instead of him and began to bodily haul him toward the still open door, which was an impressive feat as the sheriff outweighed him by at least eight pounds. "Killian has her on his boat!" Bae shouted, nearly out of his head with fear. "She helped me get away! We have to go get her!"

He was completely thrown by this information. "Killian? Killian did this?"

"_Come on!_" Bae yelled. There was such urgency in his voice, such conviction that something truly horrible was going to happen, that he lurched forward after him.

The sheriff followed them quickly, yanking his keys out of his pocket as they raced back outside. Bae ignored that his feet were bare and ran ahead of them to the jeep Nolen drove when he was on duty. He followed quickly and the moment the car was unlocked he shoved Bae into the backseat and got into the passenger's side. David was pulling out of the lot in seconds and he ripped his coat off as they went, giving it to Bae at once. "Put this on." He instructed tightly, afraid he was going to freeze to death with as cold as it was, with as wet as he was. He was also really worried Bae might already have frostbite on his feet and he couldn't see him well enough in the darkness of the car to be sure. Nolen had the heat blasting the moment they were going in a straight line and he could let go of the wheel safely, but it would still take a few minutes for the car to warm up enough to be helpful. "How long have you been outside like this?"

"I don't know. Twenty or thirty minutes." Bae said as he pulled the jacket around him, barely able to manage with the way he was shivering. "I hid by the cannery for awhile. I thought Belle was going to follow me but she never came. I was going to go back and help her, but I saw a car driving up and was afraid that woman would see me and get me again."

"What woman?" Nolen asked.

"Belle said her name was Cora."

He muttered a curse under his breath, turned backward in his seat so he could check Bae as best as he could as they sped down the icy roads. Yanking his scarf off as well he put it around Bae's feet as he sat in an awkward ball under the coat, seeing one of them was bandaged. "What happened to your foot?"

"I stepped on some glass in the parlor." He told him, his teeth chattering. "Killian came in when Belle was dropping August off and we scuffled. Once we were on the boat he wrapped it so it would stop bleeding."

"How'd he get in the house?" David asked him, his eyes on the road as he sped toward the docks.

"I left the door unlocked when she left." Bae said, looking miserable and guilty. "I didn't think it would matter."

"It's not your fault, son." He said at once. "I should have been home with you."

"I thought you weren't going to be back until tomorrow?" Bae said.

"I finished early." He told him as the sheriff turned the car down the road that paralleled the dock. "You were gone when I got there. How long ago did he break in?"

"Early." Bae said. "Nine o'clock maybe."

Nolen suddenly craned his neck so he could se through the snow, which had started again with a vengeance about an hour ago a look of disbelief filling his face. "Is that a _pirate_ ship?" He asked with baffled wonder.

"I told you he was an arse." Bae told him.

He didn't even have the energy to spare to care about what kind of boat the damn thing was. All he wanted was to get to Belle. David parked the car close to it quickly and Bae shifted. He stopped that at once. "You stay here, Bae." He ordered, leaving absolutely no room for argument. "And keep the doors locked."

"But, papa-"

"No arguing." He ordered more harshly than he intended.

"He's right." David said. "Lock the doors and if anyone even gets close to the car turn on the siren." He pointed to the button before reaching into the glove compartment, ignoring that he was invading his space. Without having to see he pulled out a small handheld canister of mace. "And use the pepper spray if they get into the car. Press the button down and close your eyes after you aim. It'll hit you too so be ready."

Bae took the item and he nodded in agreement of the mace. He repeated his instructions again. "Stay here." He told him. "I mean it."

"All right." Bae agreed reluctantly.

"And lock the doors." He repeated before shutting his. Without his coat the cold was biting and he had no idea how Bae managed not to freeze to death after half an hour out here dressed like he was. All he could do was be grateful as they hurried to the boat, the sheriff several feet ahead of him, removing his gun from its holster as they went. He was silent as they hurried to the boat, his eyes darting around and straining his ears for sound of anything. All he heard was the water lapping against the dock and the creak of the boats, all of it muffled by the thickly falling snow.

In less than a minute they got to a ramp extending down from the deck of the boat to the dock and Nolen went up quickly, making a motion to stay quiet. Having no aim of getting caught off guard he had no intention of making any noise to begin with. He noted the snow was disturbed all over the ramp, but the new snowfall was covering up the tracks quickly, making it hard to tell which way the prints had been going. David's eyes flicked down to see them briefly before coming back up, swinging himself around as they got to the deck to be sure he saw everything. He let the sheriff go first, mostly because he was looking at the deck for clues rather than a fear of getting hurt. His fear for Belle was out stripping his need for self-preservation by leaps and bounds and it was hard not to rush around looking for her.

The snow here was much more churned up, large patches of it flattened or shoved into small piles, and he could see something had gone on here. There was nothing else on the deck though, save for a few neatly tied ropes and a lifeboat that was clearly empty to one side. David moved quickly to the door leading below decks and he followed without hesitation. The sheriff opened the door quietly and carefully, looking into the dark staircase for a moment before moving down, bent almost double so he wouldn't hit his head. He followed as quietly as possible, but his cane was still making soft clicks on the wooden stairs. David moved to the first room and checked it quickly, keeping his back to walls so no one could get behind him. He found nothing and they moved on. Ten minutes later and they were in the forth and final room, this one clearly where they had been held. He saw loose ropes all over, but little else, the room having no doubt been stripped to prevent them being able to help get themselves free, which had apparently happened regardless of the precautions.

Bending down he picked up one of the ropes. It was thick and coarse like all the ropes he'd seen on the ship, yet somehow part of it had been sawed through and he looked around to try to figure out how that had happened, because it was apparent the ship was empty. David was looking down into what he could only assume was a cargo hold. David put his gun away as he stared into it. "There's no one here."

"I can see that." He said, forcing himself not to explode. It wouldn't help anything.

"They haven't been gone long if Bae only got away half an hour ago." Nolen pointed out needlessly. "They can't have gone far."

"I think the question is where they went. They could be ten feet away, but that hardly helps if we don't know it."

"I'll find her, Gold." David said sincerely. "But I can't do that and worry about the two of you at the same time. I'll take you to the inn. Stay there for the night. It'll be safer than the house with them knowing the layout of it. I'll call Graham back in so he can help me."

"You expect me to go sit around while a known criminal and a power hungry politician have her as a hostage?" He demanded.

"No, I expect you to let me do my job while you take care of your son." The other man said. "You can't be two places at once and Bae's more than half frozen and terrified." He reached up and pinched his nose. He hated that Nolen was right and he hated that Nolen was wrong. He hated that there was no good answer and no matter how he looked at it Belle was in very real danger. He couldn't leave Bae though, not when it was as likely that they would come and try to snatch him again if he was away. "Let me do my job." David repeated. "This is only wasting time."

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly, lowering his hand. David nodded and they left the boat after a second sweep to be sure it really was empty. He took in everything, from the most insignificant bit of dust to the keepsakes in the third room they looked in, which was clearly meant to be the captain's quarters. He stored the information away as they left, and said nothing until they got to the car. He spotted Bae peering anxiously out the window to see them, and when he saw they were alone slumped backwards, crushed. Feeling just as awful he could only empathize with his son as they got back into the car. "We're going to the inn." He told Bae quietly, staying composed for his son's benefit. "So we can get you warm and dried off."

"What about Belle?" He asked.

David answered for him. "I'm going to look for her as soon as you're both at Granny's."

"Why aren't we going home?" Bae pushed. "What if she goes home and then we aren't there?"

"She'll go to the police department the same way you did if she gets away." He said, unsure if that were really true or not, but wanting to calm him down. Bae went quiet after that and he wasn't sure what he was thinking. He doubted it was anything good with the way he was looking, a cross between helplessness and horrible guilt, but didn't ask him about it until they were at the inn and Granny made sure they were in the nicest of the rooms, getting Ruby to go down to the kitchen with her so they could get food for them. Both women were agitated and ready to kill as soon as he gave them a brief run down of what was happening, and for a moment he really thought Ruby was going to go burn Killian's boat straight into the water. The only thing that prevented her from tearing out of the place, and him from following, was her grandmother.

Trying to control his own panic he forced Bae to sit on one of the beds after he tore the quilt off it. Once he was sitting he wrapped the material around him and rubbed his arms to try to get him warmed back up. He was grateful the inn was already warm, and that there was a small fireplace in this room that Mrs. Lucas had lit almost before they could get Bae fully in the room. She had been as worried by Bae's appearance as he was, knowing full well what the cold could do to a person after living in this climate her whole life. "Are you hurt, Bae?"

"It's just my foot and some bruises." He said quietly. "Killian wasn't trying to hurt me. He only wanted to be sure I couldn't get away." He said nothing to that, unsure of what to say, and bent down so he could see Bae's feet, which was what he was really worried about as far as his health was concerned.

"Do your feet hurt?" He asked as he looked at them. They were red, but not abnormally so, not in a way that would indicate there was a real problem. "Or itch?"

"They're just cold." He said. "And kind of numb."

"I need you to tell me if they start to hurt at all, or the skin changes color." He instructed softly, not wanting to scare him any more tonight than he already was. "Or if the numbness doesn't go away once you're warm. Okay?"

"Okay." Bae agreed quietly.

Getting back up he sat down beside his son and hugged him tightly. Bae returned the hug and he kissed the top of his head, rocking him slightly as he did. Trying to alleviate Bae's fear as much as his own, trying to reassure them both that he was safe. "I'm sorry, son. I should have been home with you. I never should have left. I just made the wrong choice." He didn't know what to say or how to make this better. "I never thought anyone would hurt you."

"What about Belle?" He asked again.

He squeezed him tightly for a moment before easing him back so he could look him in the face. "Belle is one of the bravest and smartest people I've ever met." And that was true. What he said next though, well, he hoped like hell it wasn't a lie. "She's going to be okay."

"She was scared, papa." Bae told him. Rage and fear snapped at him hard, but he tried to hide it because his son deserved to have a brave father even though he didn't. "And she saved me and I couldn't save her back."

"You did the right thing to go get help." He told him, not wanting him to feel guilty about leaving her and feeling a type of gratitude toward Belle he couldn't, and likely never would be able to express. "That's what she wanted you to do. She wanted you to be safe." He squeezed his shoulder gently. "Was she hurt when you left?"

"Nothing bad. I think she hurt her ankle at the house, and then ropes left marks on her wrists." He wasn't sure if knowing that made him feel better that there was nothing seriously wrong or angry all over again. And either way that didn't tell him how she was now. "That woman knocked her out with some sort of shot that made her sleep for hours." He told him. "That won't hurt the baby will it?"

That had him going stock-still. "The baby?"

"I think that's why she was so scared." Bae told him. "She's afraid something is going to hurt the baby, or that the shot did. That won't happen will it?"

Oh god. Oh god. His stomach rolled sickly as any number of her eccentric behaviors became startlingly clear. Everything, every anxious look, every hounding step, every seemingly irrational behavior all came together in single, understandable pattern. Cookies, he had blamed cookies for making her sick when she wasn't sick at all. He hadn't understood why she was so tired when she was sleeping so much. He hadn't understood why she was so nervous. He hadn't understood why she had wanted him to stay home with her. And she had _asked _him to stay. She had asked if she could come with him if he wasn't going to do that and he hadn't let her. He had left his very anxious, unsure, no doubt badly confused, _pregnant_ wife alone and she had been snatched away from him. He had to find her, now, before anything did happen. "No, that won't happen." He said, part of his brain on autopilot as the rest kept flipping from panic over her being gone, to panic over her being pregnant, to panic over the health and well-being of the baby he hadn't known even existed until five seconds ago, to pure, unadulterated rage. He patted Bae's arm before standing up. "Nothing is going to happen to the baby, or to Belle." He limped toward the door all his tentative thoughts of letting Nolen do this gone, blown away in a blast of primeval protectiveness of what was his. "I'm going to go check on the food. Have you eaten at all today?"

"No."

He gave his son a reassuring nod, easily hiding his thoughts now that he was plotting. This was normal for him, scheming and thinking, and as he let his mind do what it so liked an odd calm settled over him. "Everything is going to be okay, Bae. I'll be back in a minute. Why don't you lay down for awhile?"

"Okay." Bae agreed, because despite everything he clearly was exhausted.

"Do you still have the mace?" His son nodded and pulled it out of the pocket of his sweats. "Good. Keep that beside you so you can use it if you have to."

Leaving the room he locked the door behind him with the key he'd hurriedly been given when they got here and went down the stairs. Granny had placed them on the second floor, which made him feel slightly better as it would be harder to break into the rooms, and heard them in the small kitchen they used for their own day to day lives in the back part of the inn where they lived. He heard Ruby ranting, and for once he wouldn't fault her natural loudness, and Mrs. Lucas trying to rein her in. He stepped into the kitchen to see Ruby slamming pots angrily as her grandmother simply flipped a few pieces of chicken over in a pan so they would cook properly. He saw she had several buns open and ready to place them on and realized Ruby was in the midst of making them some sort of soup to go with the hot sandwiches. He interrupted them. "Mrs. Lucas?" The old woman turned toward the sound of his voice, her glasses hanging around her neck instead of on her nose as she wasn't reading. "May I speak with you?"

She nodded as Ruby nodded to him, distracted and enraged, but supportive of him, and quickly took over cooking. He wondered when Ruby had finally accepted him, but had little time or energy for that thought at the moment. He drew back out into the hallway and Granny followed him. When they were alone, and well out of earshot, he spoke softly as he handed her the key back. "I need you to watch Bae for me. I need to know he's safe while I'm gone."

The woman was quiet for a long time as they watched one another. He refused to look away, to bend, or to leave Belle to her fate. However, he had to be sure his son was safe. Slowly, she took the key from him. "Nothing will happen to your boy while he's here." Her eyes glittered oddly and he was very sure he had picked the right guardian. He nodded and turned to go, thankful the woman had taken his coat and hung it near the door so he could get it on the way out. "Russell." She said quietly, and the use of his first name was enough to have him pausing. He turned his head back and she spoke. "Whatever you're about to do, don't get caught. He doesn't need his father in prison. I doubt Belle would be overly pleased with you for it either."

"Oh, I won't." He assured her. "But if anything happens there's paperwork in my briefcase for them both. Be sure they find it."

The woman nodded again and he left, heading toward the door. Collecting his coat and scarf from the metal coat rack quickly he pulled them on, tugging his gloves onto his hands. Stepping outside he pulled the door shut softly and stepped back out into the storm. Walking across the street he went to his car, which was still parked in front of the sheriff's department, and saw a new set of tire tracks nearby. He assumed the deputy was now also involved in the search, had stopped in to grab his radio and badge, but paid this no mind. He would let them search, no doubt wasting time in their effort to follow proper procedure and go about this legally. He didn't have time for that, and was very convinced that Belle didn't either. Getting into his car he pulled out, knowing where to start this. Going carefully he drove back to the docks, parking his car behind the cannery and out of sight.

Once it was hidden he got out and returned to the ship. Jones would be back sooner rather than later. He had been studying people long enough to learn to recognize what people loved, what would have them bending to him, and this man loved his ship. It was restored to its original state, well cared for, something that was difficult for an antique ship made of wood and rope, and Jones knew how to sail it. He had also seen the possessions in the captain's quarters. All of them were pristine, well taken care of and clean, placed precisely. There was caring in this ship, a deep undeniable affinity for adventure and life. Yes, he would be back, and soon. With Bae's escape he had to know it was only a matter of time before someone came looking, before someone discovered the ship, and he would want to move it so it wouldn't be hurt or taken from him.

For once in his life he wasn't afraid of what might happen to him and he moved back onto the ship fearlessly. Moving swiftly he went back below decks, to the most prized room, and waited in a shadowed corner of the captain's quarters. It took all his self-control to stay there, to be patient, but after nearly an hour and a half his persistence was well rewarded. He heard the deck above him creaking as someone hurried across it and he shifted his grip on his cane so he was holding it just below the metal head. Less than a minute later the door opened swiftly and Jones came in, his eyes on the small desk on the far side where his maps and compass were. Before the other man made it a foot inside he stepped forward and slammed the metal portion of his cane into the back of his head. Jones dropped like a rock, instantly knocked unconscious, and he narrowed his eyes at his prey.

Before he could do anything rash, like kill him on the spot, he made himself act more rationally. Taking hold of the man he pulled him to a nearby beam that ran through the room as part of the ships construction. Hauling him to it he sat him up and grabbed some rope off a hook that was in the same room his son and Bell had been kept in. Returning to Jones he tied him to the post tightly, being sure there would be no way for him to escape or untie the knots he made. That done, he went back to being patient.

He waited with chilling calmness for the other man to regain consciousness. He had pulled a wooden chair that had been tucked into a corner in front of where he had trussed him up, not even caring how badly his leg hurt after having to drag him across the room so he was in a place he could be properly secured. Turning his cane idly he took the other man in, unmoved by his features. He could see he was a handsome man, could see why he would attract Mila and keep her flighty interest for as long as he had. She had always liked dangerous men. It was a shame she had picked one less dangerous than him though, because he honestly couldn't be sure he wasn't about to kill her lover. He had never been so angry in his life, and he had been angry often, for so many reasons, but this, this really topped the list.

It took Jones about fifteen minutes to come back and another few seconds to reorient himself. He watched silently as he groaned and tried to stretch, and then jerk in alarm when he found he couldn't move anything but his head. He felt that this feeling of helplessness was well deserved after he had done the same to a teenaged boy and pregnant woman. He deserved much worse of course, but this was an adequate start. The moment he realized he was trapped his head flew up and he spotted him at once. He continued to watch Jones, letting the silence, and the threat, sit between them. Jones finally broke the silence. "Let me explain, mate. Okay? Let me explain."

He thought that an explanation would help? "Oh, well that is fascinating, truly fascinating." He didn't give a fuck about explanations at this point. They were well beyond that now. Fast as lightning, he pressed the tip of his cane hard against he man's windpipe, forcing his head back and he squeezed his neck between the beam and his cane. He began to struggle for air at once, but he felt no pity, actually all he wanted was for him to hurt more. "I'm going to let you breath in a second and you're going to say two sentences. The first is going to tell me where she is. The second is going to tell me who told you to take her. Do you understand the rules?" Jones gagged again. "Good. Let's begin."

"I needed Bae."

He let out a dangerous, nearly psychotic laugh, his hatred and rage only increasing. "Ah, ah, ah." He said quickly. "Now, you see, that is not a good first sentence." Lifting his cane he hit the man's collarbone hard, the sound of the wood cracking over him filling the room. He shouted in pain. "Tell me where she is!" The other man gritted his teeth defiantly and he hit him again, not holding back in the slightest. "Tell me where she is!" He demanded, needing to know. Killian refused to answer, and he showed him no pity. Finally, after fifteen or so brutal hits the other man broke.

"It wasn't my fault!"

It was in every way his fault. "Wasn't your fault? You kidnapped my wife and son! Belle is gone!" He hit him again. "_Where is she?_"

"Mila wanted him back!" He snarled. "You stole the lad from her! Do you know what that did to her?"

He couldn't even believe what he was hearing. "She left him!" He snarled. "She abandoned him!"

"Do you have any idea how sorry she is for that?" He asked.

"Do you have any idea how little I care?" He replied. "Mila has spent years systematically making me miserable in every conceivable way as if I'm the one to blame for her unhappiness when she's done everything to herself. Now, that in itself I can forgive, or at the very least ignore, but in her epic quest to ruin my life she has seriously, emotionally damaged my son. Before we divorced she would be gone for weeks, whoring herself out as frequently as possible and engaging it what other activities I don't care to think about. When she was at home with us she would ignore him, forget to feed him, leave him crying in a room for hours while I was at work, and steal the money I gave her to use for clothes and food for her only child to run off again. And once, I'm quite sure, to rid herself of a child that was most certainly not mine. After she drove me off things didn't get much better, as I'm sure you can attest to as you were there for part of it. And now she has sent you to kidnap him, to take him away from the only safe and stable environment he can ever recall being in, and scare him witless."

Jones was enraged by this information. "You started this! You drove her away! You were cruel to her! I know you want her back!"

"Is that what she told you?" He asked, unmoved. "I'm sure it is. She's a skilled and manipulative liar as long as she needs you. I don't care to know what she told you to get you here, because frankly I don't care. I can also assure you that I would rather be dipped alive in boiling oil than ever see Mila again. And, were our circumstances different, I might be kind enough to let you know that in all likelihood she's found someone else to share her bed while you're away." He shrugged. "Or several."

He flushed angrily. "You think because you weren't enough for her that she would-"

He hit him with his cane again, purely for being stupid. "People don't change. They pretend that they do on occasion, but they never really can. I, for instance, am not a kind man. I'm also extremely possessive of what is mine. You should have taken this into account prior to kidnapping my family." He hit him again so he was sure he was clear that this was in now way acceptable and Jones grunted at the pain. "Now, if you don't tell me where Belle is I can see no reason to continue wasting my time. You have thirty seconds to tell me, or I will kill you."

"All this for a woman you tricked into marrying you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Fifteen seconds." He said calmly.

Whatever Jones saw in his face must have convinced him that he was serious about what he said. "All Cora said was that she found a safe place for her. I just helped put her in the car before I started looking for Bae."

"Try again." He ordered, his patience finally running dry.

"That's all she said. She said she found a safe place where no one would find her in town."

"And how did she find this place?" He asked, because he didn't know where that might be and he knew where everything was.

"I don't know, mate." He said. "You'd have to ask her, or whoever her contact is here."

"Her contact?" He asked emotionlessly, already knowing where this was going.

"She said she had someone here she could trust, or at the very least control. She didn't give me a name, but she was sure about it."

He said nothing for a moment as he turned that over. He then asked another question. "What did she give you for your help? What did she offer?"

Jones shrugged. "What every criminal wants. A pardon."

"And how did she plan to accomplish that?"

"You." He said. "She said we could get nearly anything for the girl. She said you'd take care of anything if it meant getting her back. She was going to dangle the lad before you as well, but you weren't getting him back either way."

"It seems I have him back, dearie." He stood up, having gotten all that he wanted. He stared down at him for a moment, holding his cane in front of him. "Understand that the only reason you aren't dead yet is because I don't have the time to hide your body properly. Also keep in mind that no one knows I have you tied up here, and with the sheriff frolicking about searching for Belle and this place closed off from the public as it's part of a crime scene no one is going to find you unless I tell them where you are. If I find out you lied, if Belle isn't still in Storybrooke, or I can't find her, you won't make it a week."

Jones gave him a careless smile, more self-assured, thinking he had lost his nerve if he was leaving him here. "What are you going to do? Come back in here and shoot me in cold blood?"

No, that would leave him open to prosecution. He wasn't stupid enough to risk getting sent to prison for murder. "American jails are notoriously unsafe, dearie." He gave him a nasty smirk, knowing it would be easy to get rid of him that way, knowing it would cost him as little as a few hundred dollars and that he could have it taken care of with no strings, no names, nothing but attaining an account number from the right person. There would be nothing to track, no one with answers, only another man killed by prison violence. "So many things can happen to a man in there." The other man's eyes flashed with understanding. "And if she's lost the baby nothing on this planet will save you."

That had the man stilling. "She's pregnant?" He wasted no more time on Jones. Shoving the chair well out of his reach he left him there, trussed up with no hope of escape, and walked back out. It seemed he needed to go make a call at the mayor's office.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews guys! This has been really fun! I'd also like to say hi to all my non-American readers. A bunch of you have written to me and I'm so excited to have so many readers from almost all over the world! That's so awesome! Cheers!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Knowing very well Regina would be at her home at this time of night, even if she was helping her mother with a kidnapping, he went straight there. He saw her car in the large, well kept driveway, and also saw that it had only a light dusting of snow on it when the rest of the world was knee deep in the stuff. She had moved her car, and recently, and he was sure down to his bones Belle had been in it recently. Getting out of his own vehicle he went into the house after grabbing her hidden key from the inside of the small, decorative lantern she had beside the front door. Regina had no idea he knew where this was, but he had worked it out almost seven years ago and she had never bothered to move it. Considering he changed the location of his spare key at least once a year for just this reason he thought this was nothing but laziness.

Unlocking the door he went in, slipping the key into one of his jacket pockets for later use and shut the door softly behind him. Most of the house was dark, quiet, but as he stood there listening he heard the soft sound of footsteps down one of the halls. Knowing that was coming from her home office he headed toward it quietly. As he got closer he heard shuffling papers followed by hurried tapping as high heels all but flew across the tile floor. Listening for another moment he determined there was only one person inside and went to the door, easing it open silently.

Regina was inside, looking truly unraveled, and that was all it took for him to know she as involved. Regina prided herself on her appearance, on being calm and collected regardless of the situation. While she would occasionally succumb to either visible annoyance or anger, something like this was nearly unprecedented. One look at her as she flew around her office and he saw she was afraid. That would make this substantially easier. "I think we have some things to discuss, dearie." He said with silky menace.

She dropped a folder full of paperwork she had been holding and it scattered over the floor. She tried to pull herself back together, but was failing miserably. "It's a bit late for a meeting don't you think?"

He wasn't even remotely convinced by the act she was trying to put on. "You are… a dreadful liar."

She tried to keep going with the lie, which was both insulting and a waste of time. "Get to it, Gold, what do you want?"

"Where is Belle?" He asked, his face contorting in rage.

"I have no idea." She said, still insincere, her eyes sparking with fear as she tried to lie her way out of this. "It's rather late. Have you checked your bed?"

She was really not helping herself. "Regina!" His voice cracked over her like a whip and she flinched. "Have you lost your mind? Do you realize what your mother has dragged you into? You are actively involved in kidnapping! This isn't a squabble for power in this ridiculous town anymore! This is a felony!"

Regina finally stopped pretending. "She's not going to hurt her. Just give her what she wants."

"I have spent enough time in my life giving your mother what she wants." He told her. "And you have spent all of yours doing the same." He needed to break through this horrible, dependent cycle Regina was in. She would never, never be able to make her mother happy no matter what she did. She would spend the rest of her life trying only to come up short over and over again. He was also very sure that if this went south for them, and it would, Cora would find a way to put all the blame on Killian and her daughter. And despite himself, despite this situation, he did have a soft spot for the mayor. Oh, he would let her go to prison for this without hesitation, but it wasn't lost on him that aside from Belle the relationship he had with Regina was the most honest one he'd ever had. True, he didn't trust her, most of the time he didn't even like her, but he did understand her, and he had used her enough to feel at least marginally responsible for her. And what Belle had said was true. Regina was a desperately lonely woman who was doing all she knew how to do to have a real connection with someone. It wasn't her fault that her mother was a power hungry wretch. But it was her fault that she was helping her, and it was her fault she wasn't telling him where his wife was. "She is using you again, Regina. She will continue to use you until there is nothing left of you. Your mother did you no favors."

She bristled, refusing to allow herself to believe what he said no matter how true it was. "Shut up! You stole her life!"

"I did nothing." He informed her before finally telling her what he never had. "Your mother left me, dearie, not the other way around. The moment she found out your father had been elected she was gone."

"He was her husband!" She yelled. "Do you know what it did to him when he found out about you?"

He raised his eyebrow, unmoved. "Believe it or not I was unaware your mother was still married until minutes before she left me. And if you would take a moment to think about this it might finally occur to you that Cora was the one that ruined her marriage. She's the one that took a lover. I didn't force myself on her."

"You're lying!"

"I do not have time for this!" He snapped, his agitation rising exponentially. There was no time to walk her through this nicely. "Your mother does not care about you! She never has and she never will!"

"My mother loves me!" She screamed back.

"Your mother loves herself!" He volleyed back. "Where was she when you were young, Regina? Where was she when you were trying to put your life together here? Why was I the one helping you instead of her when she could have given you twice as much advice? Where was she when Daniel died?"

That had the woman spiraling out of control. "That was Mary Margaret's fault!"

"A car accident caused by unsalted roads and black ice is no one's fault!" He snapped. "It was a tragedy, but no one's fault! Your mother should have been here with you after that! I shouldn't have been the only one here holding you together! Stop blaming other people for her wrongs! Stop letting her control you!"

"She's all I have!"

"She's all you will let yourself have!" He threw back. "You've given up on your own life because she's convinced you that's what it will take for her to love you! She shouldn't need a reason to love you! She's your mother!"

Regina was trying to fight back tears and he could tell she was only just managing. "It's too late now." She said. "It's too late to undo it."

He gathered himself together, realizing that making a deal with Regina would be much more productive than hurting or threatening her. "There's still time to get out of this." He reasoned. "Tell me where Belle is so I can go get her and we can talk about this once she's safe."

"You mean when I'm in a jail cell?" She asked, her venom coming back with a vengeance.

"You've gotten yourself into this mess, Regina, but I've no interest in making it worse for you." He was willing to bargain with her if not Killian or Cora. He knew too much about her to really hate her no matter how angry he was. He also knew this hadn't been her idea and she wouldn't have done this on her own. He also knew that threats would only have her shutting down and would get him nowhere. "Help me find her and I'll do whatever I can to keep you out of this."

"Why would you do that?"

He sighed. "Because unlike your mother I do worry about what happens to you. I wouldn't put up with as much as I do if I didn't. You aren't a bad person, dearie, but you've been trained to it for years. There's still time to change that though, and I doubt prison will be all that rehabilitating."

Regina collapsed in the chair behind her desk. "And my mother?"

"She kidnapped by son and wife, Regina." He told her. "She'll get no mercy from me or anyone else."

She hesitated, badly, before finally giving in. "She's in one of the mines."

"She isn't wearing a coat or shoes and you put her in the mines?" He snarled, his rage back in an instant. "She's going to freeze to death!"

"It's warmer in the tunnels-"

Only marginally, and now, this late at night, it had dipped into the negatives. He was truly racing against the clock, assuming there was any time left at all now. "Which one!" He demanded.

She got up and went to one of her filing cabinets. She pulled out a map and handed it to him, pointing to one of the tunnels as she did. "This one. She was still unconscious when we moved her there. I left as soon as she was in, she never saw me."

"What do you mean she was unconscious?" He demanded. She had certainly been conscious to have helped Bae escape. He was terrified she had been injected with something else. He really had no idea what that might do to Belle, let alone the baby she was now carrying, and he couldn't handle thinking about something happening to either of them. He also didn't have the time to process exactly what he was feeling about that situation, but was very sure that he shouldn't be trying to do it in a situation like this. "Did your mother drug her again?"

"No." Regina said too carefully.

He turned on her at once. "Why then?"

"Killian knocked her out. He said she tried to run."

He nearly ripped the map in two. Regina took a step away from him, wisely, as he struggled to regain some small part of his temper. "Where is your mother now?"

"I let her use my office at city hall. I came to get paperwork for her."

He took a deep breath. "You stay here. Don't go after her, don't warn her, don't contact her." He was trying to help her, but honestly wasn't sure she was going to let him. He walked to her desk and picked the phone up off the holder. The soft sound of the dial tone filled the quiet office. "Do the smart thing and call the sheriff." She said nothing and didn't move, and he prompted her again, trying to show her how this would be an advantage. "I know Nolen's already talked to you and I know you told him you didn't know anything. Tell him you only just found out your mother was here, that she broke into your office at city hall and you saw her when you were going in late to work. Tell him you came straight home to let him know. It'll look like you had nothing to do with it."

"I can't do that." She said, nearly whining at him.

"I can't make this look like you weren't part of it unless you make yourself look like you weren't part of it." He said impatiently. "If you want to stay out of jail you need to do this." She swayed in indecision and it took all he had not to grab her and shake her until she came apart. "Regina!"

Pressing her lips together she tore the phone out of his hand and punched in the buttons for Nolen. There was a pause as he answered and then Regina started speaking, sounding much more sure of herself than she really was. "David, I've called because I've just seen my mother. She was in my office at city hall. She must have stolen my spare key the last time she was visiting." There was another pause. "No, no I came back home. I thought you would want to know. If you would tell me what's going on I could help more." Another, shorter pause. "Of course, sheriff, I'll stay where I am." After Nolen said something else to her she hung up the phone and looked at him.

"Good." He told her, satisfied. "Now you do exactly what you just said and stay here. If you get in the way I will break our deal."

There was no response and he left quickly, his urgency increasing exponentially now that he knew where Belle was. And he was sure she was there as he could always tell when Regina was lying. As soon as he was back in his car he pulled out and he headed toward the east edge of the town limits as fast as possible. Ironically, they had placed Belle in a mine on one of the first pieces of property he had bought after he moved here, but he supposed that wasn't here or there

If he did find Belle he would keep his word to Regina, but if something happened to her all bets were off. What he really needed was Cora contained so he could get Belle safely out and was banking on Nolen and Graham getting her quickly. He had no faith that the woman wouldn't shoot them given the chance if she found out her plan had fallen out from under her and that was the last thing he wanted. It took him thirty minutes to get to the abandoned mine, the roads out this far having not been taken care of yet as they were hardly ever used, but he did see faint tire track marks from where they had come out her to drop her off, so he was confident he was headed in the right direction.

He finally got there, barely able to see the half collapsed entrance between the darkness, snow, and a tree that had fallen down a few feet in front of it. He had to admit it was a good hiding spot. Undeterred he got out of the car quickly. Getting around the tree he ducked so he could fit into the mineshaft and almost immediately kicked an old flashlight. Snatching it up, and knowing it must have been left here for Cora to use, he turned it on. It flared to life, surprisingly bright considering how small it was. Moving forward quickly he was even more disturbed now that he was here and actually feeling how cold it was than he had been at Regina's home. He began to pick up the pace because if Bae was near to frozen to death after half an hour outside he was terrified at what Belle's condition was after well over three hours.

A hundred yards in he began to call to her, fear in his voice. "Belle!" There was no answer and he didn't know if that meant she hadn't heard him, wasn't here, or was still unconscious. He kept calling to her as he moved farther in. "Belle? Belle!"

Then, out of the darkness, he heard her call back. "_Russell!_" She yelled. "Russell, I'm down here! Russell!" The shouting was close, far closer than he anticipated, and he heard an odd quite clanking along with it.

"I'm coming!" He called back at once, rushing forward. When he turned the next corner his flashlight fell on her and he saw her sitting in a mine cart, straining toward the edge with frantic impatience. She was a mess, her hair sticking in all directions, covered in dirt, badly bruised, and shivering like mad. She was also sitting oddly, her shoulder hunched down as she pressed close to the edge of the wheeled box. She gave him the most pleased look he had ever seen, clearly ecstatic to see him, and felt his knees shaking as relief crashed over him. The moment she saw him she began jerking forward in agitation, clearly wanting nothing more than to get out of the cart and to him, but couldn't manage it.

As he got closer she began speaking quickly. "Did Bae find you?" She asked, straining toward him as he hurried to her. "Is he okay? Did he-"

He interrupted her as he got to her. "He's fine, Belle." He wrapped his arms around her, his heart feeling a hundred times lighter, and she pressed as close to him as she could. "He's fine, I promise. He's at the inn with Ruby and her grandmother. Are you all right?" As he questioned her he saw why she couldn't get out. She was cuffed to a bar that was at the bottom of the cart.

She nodded although she wasn't all right at all, clutching at him with one arm as she shivered like mad. "I want to go home." She said, her voice cracking badly. "Can we go home?" She begged.

He kissed her at once, willing to do anything for her at this moment to make her feel better. "Right now." He promised, his voice breaking.

"I'm stuck." She told him, pulling at her trapped arm again.

He took the full scope of the problem in at once and without a word he set his cane against the cart and shrugged out of his coat. "I'll get you out, dearest. Don't worry." He wrapped his coat around her tightly, because he was sure her lips were turning blue and that was not an exaggeration his mind was making up due to worry. He needed to get her warm as soon as possible.

"I guess it's too much to hope you brought a handcuff key." She said with a strained smile, no doubt afraid that he would have to leave her and come back in order to get her free.

"You don't need a key when you have magic." He told her teasingly, trying to bolster her spirit, which had been badly trampled all over in the last day or so.

"Magic?" She asked with tired disbelief.

He picked his cane up and spun it around so the head of it was facing down. Dipping it into the cart he hooked the metal handle under the squared bar she was cuffed to. Shifting to the other side of the cart so he was parallel to the bar he put his hands over the cane, wiggling it so the head was right at the corner where the bar was soldered to the metal plating, and pushed down with a sharp, forceful motion. The bar creaked, the metal straining against the wood, before the leverage won out against the eroding and rusted bar. It let out a sharp metal scrapping that set his teeth on edge, and then it was free from the side of the cart. Flipping his cane back out he reached down and slid the cuff off the bar and she was free, although the cuffs were still dangling from her wrist.

"There we are, dearest." He said, pleased with himself for getting her loose so quickly. Without a word she scrambled out of the cart with no grace at all and nearly tackled him to the ground she threw herself at him so hard. Her arms went around his shoulders and she held onto him tightly, grabbing at the back of his jacket and bunching it in her hands so there was no chance he would get away. He grunted at the impact, but hardly cared that she had nearly knocked them flat to the rocky ground. All he cared about that she was here with him, that he could see she was alive, and that he had found her. His arms went around her and he rubbed her back over the coat that was now around her. He could feel how happy she was that he was here and that she was free. He could also tell she was still terrified and held her securely, trying to reassure her. "It's okay. It's okay, Belle. No one's going to hurt you again."

"They're going to come back." She told him.

"They'll be busy for a bit." He promised her. "I made sure of that."

"They broke into the house." She told him.

"I know. Bae told me."

She just pressed closer to him and he kept rubbing her back before slowly forcing her head up. He touched her bruised cheek gently, enraged by it. Half her face was an ugly molted purple and he didn't even want to know how hard she had been hit to get a result like this. He could also see her clothes were wet, no doubt from the snow. "We need to get you out of here." He told her. "You're soaked through and bruised to bits." She couldn't have agreed more and nodded adamantly. Shifting, he kept his hand on her back and they started toward the exit after she grabbed the flashlight from him so he could use his cane and touch her at the same time. It took them longer to get out than it took him to get in simply because Belle had to pick her way around the rocks as she didn't have any shoes on. He also noted she was limping badly as well, but said nothing about it at the moment. He coxed her to go more quickly, not wanting her to hurt herself, but truly worried about how cold she was.

They finally got to his car and he got her inside of it and turned the heat on as high as it would go. No sooner had he turned the heat on than she was hugging him again, ignoring both the central consol between them and the steering wheel that were in her way. He pulled her to him carefully, trying to get her in a comfortable position despite the small space. Belle didn't seem to care about any of that as she burrowed into him. "You found me."

"Of course I did." He whispered, not knowing what he would have done if he hadn't. Knowing that's why he had, because he couldn't stand being without her. Losing her would have killed him, even if he had hung on for Bae he knew it would have completely destroyed him. "Of course I found you."

Her body hitched, but her voice was steady, if soft, when she spoke. "Russell, I need you to take me to the hospital."

He kissed her forehead and rocked her. "I know, dearest."

She shook her head and clutched at him tighter. "No, you don't. I need to tell you something."

He kissed her forehead again, wanting to reassure her, wanting to reduce her stress as much as possible. "Let's be sure you and the baby are okay first and then you can tell me all about it. How's that sound?" She lifted her head up, her eyes wide with surprise and fear, and he rubbed her unbruised cheek tenderly.

"Okay." She whispered after several seconds watching him for some sign of what he was feeling about that. Not knowing what else to say he kissed her warmly before moving her back to her seat so he could drive. Turning the car around carefully he drove away from the mine. It took them as long to get to the hospital as it did for him to get there, and about five minutes into the drive he had tucked Belle back against his side as much to keep her warm as reassure them both that they were together. That seemed to calm her substantially and she curled her legs up under her, huddled in his coat as the car got hot. By the time they pulled up to the hospital she had finally stopped shivering, although the odd quiet was disturbing to him. At one point he looked down and saw she was dozing lightly and he wondered how far this had pushed her. Belle was generally full of life and energy, but with all she'd been put through, her pregnancy, and the extreme cold she'd been in he was worried it had simply taxed her too much.

Parking, he roused her and she opened her eyes at once. He got out of the car first before allowing her out and went to her side of the car. She got out and he helped her inside, watching her walk more closely. The moment they were in the hospital he was calling for help, uncaring of who else as in here waiting to be seen, or for what. A nurse rushed over at his call and noted the bruising and handcuffs. The woman went and got her a wheelchair and when she came back began asking them questions. Belle told her she was pregnant immediately, ignoring the questions about her bruising and ankle completely, and told her she wanted to see Whaler. He seconded that at once, getting rather aggressive about it when the nurse didn't move fast enough, and the doctor was paged.

As soon as that was done the nurse took Belle to one of the hospital rooms, telling him she would be back to get him in a few minutes. Belle sent him a panicked look at being separated and he simply ignored the nurse and followed after them. Seeing that he wasn't about to go anywhere the nurse didn't try to get him to leave, which wouldn't have worked at all, and got Belle into a hospital bed in a private room. The woman called for another nurse and sent her off to get her a change of clothes as Belle's were ruined, and began to check her over. She determined her ankle was badly bruised, but not sprained, and wrapped it with swift efficiency. By the time she was done with that, and getting her vital signs, the other nurse was back with a pair of yellow scrubs she must have gotten out of a storeroom somewhere. Both of them left, telling them they would be back with Whaler as soon as he got there, and he shut the door to give her them both some privacy.

Belle changed into the new clothes and he was horrified when he saw how much of her was bruised and scratched. Other than her ankle and face she had bruises running all over her back and legs, no doubt where she was dumped into a cart full of rocks, and her wrists were so badly abraded that they were bleeding in some places, the cuts having been re-opened when she took off her long sleeved shirt. It was clear she had worked hard to get out of those ropes earlier. Belle didn't even seem aware of this as she pulled on the dry scrubs and sat back down. As soon as she was sitting both her arms went around her middle as she hunched up on herself. She looked up at him and took him in. Now that he had her safe and at the hospital where she needed to be he had no idea what to do or say. He was overwhelmed now, by completely different emotions than he'd been experiencing until this moment. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, other than stupidly overwhelmed at the thought of having another child, and she broke under the stare. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want a baby." His eyes flickered in shock, because he had never once said or implied that, and she looked away. "I can't get rid of it, Russell." She rubbed her stomach again. "I want my baby… our baby."

Alarmed by that thought process, and not wanting her to think that because now all he could think was how much he wanted it too, he sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders abruptly, pulling her against his chest. "Of course I want it." He said gruffly. And he did, he did want this more than he could say, but that didn't mean he didn't need a few solid minutes of peace to process it.

"You never said anything about wanting a baby." She whispered nervously.

"I never admit what I want until I get it." He told her, thinking she should know that by now. "Because I'm a coward and can't let myself want anything knowing I won't get it. Stop believing my nonsense."

She relaxed in a rush, her body simply going slack. "You really want it?"

"Yes." He said without hesitation or deceit. Lowering his head he kissed the top of hers as he held her. "I really do."

She reached around and hugged him around the waist tightly. "This really isn't how I wanted you to find out. How did you know?"

He let out a breath as he kissed the top of her head again and began to stroke her hair. "Bae told me, although he seemed to think I already knew. How did he?"

"They're talking about pregnancy in health class. He kinda noticed I kept sneaking off to get sick in the bathroom right after breakfast… and right before. He also accused me of smelling weird things, which I guess is something else that can happen. I didn't even realize I was doing that."

He shook his head, bemused and exasperated with himself. "It's good to know my fourteen year old son worked that out before me." She buried her head in his chest. He tightened his hold on her and rubbed her back soothingly when it was clear she was badly distressed and he knew exactly why. "Shhh." He was all comfort in an instant. "Everything is going to be fine."

She nodded into him, allowing him to comfort her, which in turn soothed him, and she leaned her weight against him quietly. They sat like that for about five minutes before the door opened again. She looked up from where her face was pressed against his jacket and he glanced over sharply, his hand tightening on his cane, primed for attack after the last few hours. He relaxed when he saw Whaler. She let him go reluctantly and sat up straight as the doctor came in. He didn't even bother to ask a question, to ask what was going on, before he was making her lay down and he got up so he would be out of the way. "Let's take a look, Belle." He said as she went flat. "Did you take anything for the bruising?"

"No."

"Good." He said. "Aspirin might have made you bleed." He lifted her shirt up enough that he could see her stomach and she helped him fold it up. He noted the cuffs, but must have already been told about them because for the moment he said nothing about it. He touched her gently all over, checking her sides as much as her stomach, his hands soft and sure. "Did you start bleeding?"

"I don't think so."

Moving away he grabbed the ultrasound machine that was tucked into a corner and turned it on quickly. Considering the nurse was the one that usually did this he knew Whaler was genuinely concerned. Belle noted the same thing as he stepped back out of the way, watching with sharp eyes. As the machine warmed up Whaler grabbed the cool gel she kept hearing about and spread it over her exposed stomach, asking questions as he did. "What happened?"

He answered for her as her eyes were locked on the gel being put on her. "She was attacked." He said simply, not seeing a reason to elaborate at the moment. "And knocked out with some sort of shot."

The doctor's eyes flew between them, his worry increasing. "How long ago did this happen?"

"What time is it?" Belle asked.

"A little past midnight."

"Fifteen hours." She told him.

"Why didn't you come here sooner?" Whaler asked with agitation.

"She just got away!" He snapped in agitation.

"How far along are you?" He asked.

Belle gave him a helpless sort of look. "Less than a month. Three weeks maybe. I don't know when it happened." He stepped to the other side of the bed and stroked her hair back gently, trying to quiet her as she became frantic all over again.

Whaler grabbed the handle and moved closer to her, asking nothing else as he focused on his task. "Don't panic when there's not a heartbeat. If you're only two or three weeks along there won't be one yet. You won't see the baby either. I'm looking for gestational sac."

She nodded and he put the device on her and began to search for the baby, his eyes directed on the screen of the machine. As he looked she tried to control her breathing and he took her hand gently. Her eyes left the screen and went to him. She sent him a strained smile and he lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles with warm affection as they both waited on pins and needles. It took Whaler a few very long seconds to find it, and then all at once he saw a very small dark blob on the screen. A moment later and the doctor relaxed all over and pointed to a small spot that appeared to be flickering. "There it is." He said with satisfaction at spotting it. "Do you see it?"

Belle nodded as she stared at it, looking mystified by it. He could tell she had no idea which emotion she wanted to pick about this at all. In the end she seemed unable to settle and lay still and watched the image with baffled wonder. For his part he felt as if whatever had wrapped itself around his heart since he found them missing finally loosened. He began to breathe easy at last, although that didn't last all that long as a whole new array of emotions filled him.

Unlike Belle he could see this on more than just an intellectual level. Oh, she might be feeling things, but he knew she really had no grasp of what this would mean, of what was about to happen, of the unwavering love and devotion that was about to fill her life. The thought of this happening to him again was insane. He had never though he would have a second child, but here it was all the same. Here it was with the partner he had never dared to hope for, or even think existed. He really didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry over this and settled on simply squeezing her hand again, asking what they really needed to know. "The baby's not hurt?" He asked, forcing calm.

"No." Whaler agreed. "Everything looks fine." He took the handle away and turned off the machine. "I want you to take it easy for at least a few days, Belle. No running or lifting anything heavy. If you start to bleed or cramping come right back here."

"Is that likely?" He asked sharply.

"The first few months are always shaky." Whaler said honestly. "But this is just a precaution and I'm going to run some blood tests. I really don't think there's anything wrong. Women's bodies are made to protect their babies. None of the bruising is around her abdomen either." He handed her a cloth and she wiped the gel off herself carefully. "If you really need it take Tylenol for the pain. That's not a blood thinner. Otherwise ice on the bruises and your ankle for fifteen minutes then off for fifteen." Gold helped her sit up and she pushed her shirt down. "I'm also going to give you some vitamins to take. If nothing changes or shows up on the blood tests we'll give you another ultrasound in two weeks."

"Thank you." She said gratefully.

"You're more than welcome. I want you to call me or come back if you have any questions, or anything doesn't feel right."

She nodded and he handed her a business card out of his pocket. "That's my cell phone. If I don't answer leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can. And don't think you're bothering me."

"I won't let her think that." He promised as he looked the card over, memorizing the numbers. "Thank you, Whaler."

"I'm glad to help." He said. "I'm going to go ahead and come over to check on you in the morning so you don't have to come back in.

"We'll be at the inn." He told him, satisfied with the attention Belle was getting. "The house is in shambles."

"What exactly happened?" Whaler asked.

"I'll be happy to catch you up tomorrow morning" He assured the other man. "Is it safe for her to leave?"

Whaler nodded. "I think you'd be more comfortable at the inn than here. I'll let you know about the blood tests as soon as I get them back." Having said that he stood up and got a syringe and tube to hold the blood out of a cabinet. Bringing the items over he sterilized a small portion of her skin as he continued, talking as he drew her blood with practiced efficiency. "The best thing you can do is relax, Belle. The stress might end up being worse than whatever you were injected with. So don't worry until I tell you to."

"Okay." She agreed as he removed the needle. He pressed a cotton ball to the injection sight.

"Hold that there for me." She pressed her other hand to it and Whaler saw her wrists, his eyes drawn to them by the handcuffs that were still dangling off her. The doctor sent him a sharp look, disturbed, but stayed steady. "I'll get you some cream for that too."

"Thank you." She said as he put a bandage over the cotton ball to hold it in place.

He nodded and tossed the needle in a plastic container before heading to the door. "I'll be back in a minute. Let me get those things and then you can go rest-"

No sooner was his hand on the door than it flew open, nearly knocking the doctor off his feet as Nolen stormed in. Graham wasn't far behind, but didn't get a chance to say anything before the sheriff was on him. "What the hell, Gold?" He shouted. "What did I say? Do you have any idea what-"

Whaler tried to step in. "Sheriff, you can't barge into a patient's room!"

"I can when I'm about to arrest someone!"

He sighed in annoyance. They must have found Killian already. What a shame. He could have done with sitting hog tied for at least another week or so. Belle looked between them in confusion and he set his hand on her shoulder, running his thumb gently up and down her neck. "I would prefer it if you would stop upsetting Belle."

"Oh, you would prefer that?" David asked with sarcasm that may well have put his to shame. "Well I would have preferred if you'd done what I damn well told you! Now I get to add yet another person to our cell count tonight as you committed assault! All you had to do was given me time-"

He opened his mouth, but Belle, hurt, upset, exhausted Belle finally lost her temper. "Stop it!" All eyes turned to her and he was alarmed to see tears in her eyes. It threw him to the edge again in an instant but she ignored him as she stood up and stalked up to David. If he hadn't been concerned for her he would have found the sight comical. There David was, the all around American boy, fully armed and at least eight inches taller than her. And there was Belle, delicate, bruised, yellow scrub clad Belle at him like an angry canary. "How dare you come in here yelling at Russell as if he's done something wrong!"

David had no idea what to make of this, having never seen Belle anything but cheerily sweet, and held his hands up to her peacefully as if that would calm her down. He knew better and wisely stayed well back with his mouth shut. "Belle, I know you've had a rough night-"

"Shut up, David!" She snarled, and the bigger man fell back half a pace, cowed. "I have been kidnapped, watched as Bae was terrorized, drugged, tied up, hit, tossed onto a very sharp pile of rocks, and nearly froze to death!" She jabbed him in the chest, she actually jabbed him. "And my husband came and saved me! If he had waited I would have died or lost our baby!" David's head reared back. "So if you're going to arrest him you're going to do it tomorrow! We are going back home-"

"The inn." He reminded her with quiet helpfulness.

"Yes, the inn!" She agreed, not at all bothered by the correction, or slowed down by it. "And I am going to be sure Bae is safe!"

"I'd be happy to take you-" Nolen tried, which Belle immediately smacked down.

"No, my husband will be taking me." She told him firmly, no longer yelling, but being just as forceful, jabbing him again. "And if you try to arrest him so help me, I will call Mary Margaret and tell her that you arrested a man that just saved his pregnant wife's life." He saw that put David in an unhappy bind and smirked in amusement for the briefest moment before wiping his face clean. "Is that what you want, David? I will have you sleeping on the couch for the next six months bare minimum and I will not feel bad about it." At this point Graham had his hand over his mouth to hide his smile as David was given a choice between the law and Mary Margaret's wrath, no doubt along with the wrath of most of the female population in the town should Belle decide to spread the word. Clear that she had won she thrust her wrist out at him. "Now get this off of me and we will see you tomorrow. If you come before noon I will spend the rest of my pregnancy systematically making you miserable." David sighed tiredly and pulled a cuff key out of his pocket. He got the handcuffs off her and Graham snatched them, putting them in a clear plastic bag as evidence at once. When she was free from it at last she threw David again by going up on her toes and kissing his cheek sweetly. "Thank you." She said with honest sincerity, all aggression gone. "And thank you for helping to find us. You too Graham."

"You're welcome, Belle." The deputy said, all graciousness. "I hope you feel better."

Whaler spoke again. "I'll go get you your things." He said. "I can see you're eager to leave."

Belle nodded sharply and sat back down on the bed. David sent him a look, telling him this was hardly over and he was lucky Belle was in a snit, and they left as well. When they were alone he sat down next to her and slipped his arm around her waist. Belle leaned into him and he kissed her temple. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She said. "And tomorrow you are going to tell me what happened so I can lie properly and keep you out of jail." He nodded seriously and kissed her temple. "And so you know I'm probably going to start crying soon."

"Don't cry, dearest."

"It's going to happen." She told him, curling up against him. "So you may as well brace yourself. I'm too tired and upset to do anything about it." Saying nothing, because he didn't want her thinking anymore for a little while now that they knew everything was okay, he simply sat there with her while they waited for Whaler to come back with the promised items. As soon as he did he was taking her to the inn and putting her in the warmest bed he could find so she could rest.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

She was leaning almost all her weight against Russell as they walked up to the door of the inn. It was obvious this was hard for him to deal with as she was putting even more strain on his leg, but he simply held her against his side as they walked. She honestly would have preferred not to be leaning on him, but she was so tired and ached so much that she simply couldn't. She also rather thought she needed to get him a new cane to use, because his was starting to look like fire kindling. It was scraped, ragged, and splintering in the spot he had it wedged against the mine cart when he was jimmying her out of her predicament. That little use of physics may well have been the most stunningly attractive thing she had ever seen, heard of, or experienced. As she thought that she began to shiver again, because even his thick wool coat couldn't keep out the miserable cold, and she was shaking again in seconds.

Russell, who was now in only a thin suit jacket, was about as cold as she was, but was utterly patient as they both limped toward the entrance. He kept looking down at her ankle before his eyes came up, resting briefly on her hidden middle, before looking forward again so they wouldn't trip over anything hidden in the snow. She had to admit his reaction to finding out she was pregnant had been a lot more positive than she could have hoped for, and despite the terror and fear of the last day she felt remarkably good about that, and her anxiety had dropped rather dramatically. She was still terribly upset over what had happened since he left on his trip, but the tone of the feelings had changed now that she knew they were all safe.

Finally getting to the door he opened it quickly and got her inside. The familiar sights and smells of the inn, where she had spent countless days with Ruby and Granny over the years, soothed her battered nerves. As soon as he shut the door on the cold she heard rapid footsteps and then Ruby was blasting around the corner. Her friend stopped for a half a second to look at her, stunned that she was there, before coming forward and hugging her so hard it nearly knocked her off her unsteady feet. "Belle!"

"Easy!" Russell nearly shouted, alarmed by the impact in combination with her injuries and his worry over the baby.

Ruby ignored him utterly as she hugged her, and he was poised to pry her off at the slightest hint that doing that was what she needed. "I was so worried about you!" Her friend all but whined, her whole being radiating her anxiety. "Are you all right? What happened to your face? Where were you?"

She hugged her friend back, as happy to see Ruby as Ruby was to see her. "I'm fine." Ruby hugged her tighter and she winced a little, paying for the fib. "Nope, that was a lie, I'm bruised and you're squeezing."

"Sorry!" Ruby said, letting her go at once. She smiled at her and Ruby reached up and touched her face delicately, surveying the bruise. "We need to get you to a doctor."

"We came from the hospital." She told her. "It's only bruises."

"She needs to lay down, Ruby." Russell said tiredly, and she wondered how long he had been looking for her then. He was worn all the way out too, although this was the first hint of it she'd seen.

"Of course." She said at once. "Bae's still upstairs with Granny. He wouldn't go to sleep after you left." She said, indicating Gold. "They must not have heard you come in or they would both be down here already."

Russell nodded, not looking at all surprised by this information. "Is he all right?"

"He's tired and worrying himself in circles." Ruby told him honestly. "But he's all right. We even managed to get half a ton of soup and sandwiches in him. He'll be really happy to see you though."

His shoulders relaxed and she could only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to leave Bae here, even if he had been saving her. "Thank you, Ruby." He said sincerely.

Much to her surprise, and even more to Russell's, Ruby caught and hugged him as well. "Thank you for finding her." Ruby said as she squeezed him. Gold was totally stiff in the embrace, but didn't push her away, simply stood there looking a hundred percent uncomfortable. Her friend simply patted his back, undeterred, as she pulled away and grabbed her hand, leading her toward the promised room. She sent Russell an amused, if tired, smile over her shoulder and he rolled his eyes at her. He followed close behind them, and her friend went slower the moment she realized that there was something wrong with her ankle. Three minutes later and Ruby was opening one of the doors of the bigger rooms that faced the square and she spotted Bae sitting at a table playing cards with Granny.

At least he was trying to. He looked frazzled and was completely distracted. His hair was all over the place and his clothes were a wrinkled mess. She was worried by the way he was holding himself as well, which was an odd combination of rebelliousness and fear, as if he were about a second away from getting up and leaving to do he didn't know what. She was sure the only thing keeping him in this room was Granny's calm insistence that he stay, and her maternal presence that no one seemed able to fully ignore. He glanced up when the door opened and the instant he saw her he was up, nearly flipping the table in his haste. "Belle!"

"Are you okay?" She asked at once, reaching for him as Ruby stepped out of the way and Russell stopped behind her in the doorway. Nothing had been worse than waking up, alone in the dark, with no idea where she was and not even knowing if he had managed to get away. She had been awake for about an hour before Russell found her, and the thoughts that went through her head while she was huddled alone in the cold, unable to see or even manage to work out more than that she was underground had been truly frightening. Her fear for Bae was at pace with her fear for the baby inside of her, and all she could think that was they might both be lost in one way or another. Then she had become so cold she couldn't even think straight, and when Russell had first called to her she honestly thought she was dreaming and hadn't even responded to him for several moments. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life and when he told her Bae was safe she thought she might pass out from pure happiness.

Bae hugged her even harder than Ruby had, but she said nothing about it. She hugged him back, relieved that he was in one piece, and a much less battered piece than she was, and hugged him back. Affection tore through her and for no real reason she wondered how tall he was going to get, because it seemed all at once he was the same height she was. "I'm fine. Are you?" He asked, letting her go after a moment and looking at her face, his eyes flashing with understanding of how she must have gotten such a contusion. His eyes sparked with anger and guilt, and an amazing amount of concern for her, and that was the end of it for her. She completely lost the tentative control she had over her emotions and started to cry. Her warning to Russell had not been off the cuff. The knowledge that Bae must have been as worried about her as she had been about him was just too much for her to deal with because she knew very well that meant he cared about her too. When Bae realized she was clutching at him and crying the poor thing panicked. He patted her back awkwardly and sent his father a truly frightened look. "Um? Stop please?" He begged. "I'm really fine."

Even more distraught that her crying was upsetting Bae she let him go at once and Granny swooped in as Russell swayed toward both of them, unsure of who to try to calm down first. "Now, it's all right, Annabelle." She nodded in agreement, knowing that was true but still crying, and the older woman ushered her out of the room with ease, rubbing her arm affectionately as she led her out. "Come on, let's go have a quiet sit down."

"I'm sorry." She cried as they got to the hall, and was sure everyone heard that despite how hard it was to get out around the tears.

"That's all right. I think there was a bit too much excitement all around today." Granny assured her as they walked straight across the hall to another room. The woman opened the door quickly and led her in, shutting the door behind them to give her some privacy after calling to Ruby. "Go get something clean for her to change into, Ruby. And some fresh towels. She'll feel better after she gets cleaned up." Once they were shut away she simply gave into the maternal care, which she admitted she very much needed right at this moment, and allowed Granny to sit her down on the edge of the bed. "Everything is fine now."

She nodded, unable to stop herself, but spoke around the tears. "Thank you for taking care of Bae. I thought Killian got him again."

"He's perfectly fine. You made sure of that they way you should have." The older woman assured her. "And now that both of you are back he's not even worried anymore." Granny took her in, still rubbing her arm as she sat next to her. "Is that man the one that did that to your face?"

She nodded, brushing the tears away as they fell. "It's a lot worse than it looks." She told her, and while it hurt, was in fact throbbing, she really wasn't overly bothered by it. "I woke up in one of the mines all alone. I would have frozen to death if Russell hadn't found me."

"You picked a good man." Granny told her. "He wasn't going to come back without you. I admit you had me concerned there at the beginning, but it seems you're a bit of a better judge of character than I am."

She sniffed, completely agreeing with that and trying to control herself, and the other woman simply let her cry, patting her back for several minutes. Too tired to keep it up for long she began to slow down pretty dramatically all at once, and as she caught her breath there was a light knock on the door. Ruby stuck her head inside and when she saw she wasn't in hysterics came all the way in with a pile of clean fabrics. Her friend shut the door behind her with her foot and she supposed both Lucas women decided that this was going to be a female only zone for at least the immediate future. "You okay?" Her friend asked.

"I'm tired." She admitted. "And still pretty cold."

"A hot bath will fix that." Ruby told her. She took the clothes and the towels into the bathroom and a moment later she heard the water turn on in the tub. Ruby moved about for a few minutes and then came back out. "I hope you're in the mood for bubbles, because that's totally happening."

She let out a hiccupping laugh and her best friend smiled at her. "I haven't had a bubble bath in I don't know how long."

"Belle, that's so sad. A woman that lives in a house as big as yours should definitely have access to a bath made specifically for bubbles." Ruby helped her up and urged her toward the bathroom. "I'm sending you home with a whole bottle of bubble bath, and getting you a gift certificate to the nearest spa."

"And where might that be?" She asked, because Storybrooke certainly did not have a spa. The closest thing they could boast was an old barbers shop, although she felt that was a sad comparison if ever there was one.

"I'll find out." Her friend promised. She smiled and Ruby let her pass her so she could get into the bathroom. "Do you need anything?"

"No, but thank you."

Her friend gave her another smile. "Call us if you do. And I'm getting some ice for your ankle." She thanked her again and Ruby vanished, shutting the door softly behind her. As soon as she was alone she got out of the scrubs, which she felt very odd in, and slid into the quickly filling tube after taking the ace bandage off her ankle. The bubbles were already a little out of control, but the sight of them did have a small smile coming to her face, and she would admit the frivolity of them made her feel better. Once the water finished filling up the tub she turned off the taps and sank down under the water, allowing it to chase the lingering cold out of her body, especially happy when her toes and fingers finally got all their feeling back. It was amazing how easily such simple things were taken for granted until you didn't have them anymore. After about fifteen minutes she had warmed herself up, her hair was soaked but clean, and she had gotten all the dirt of the mineshaft off of her.

Too tired to do anything else now that she was clean she lay back in the tub and went still. Her eyes fluttered closed as she basked in the heat, and she was sure she fell asleep because the next thing she knew Russell had his hand on her shoulder and was shaking her awake gently. "Dearie, wake up, you're going to drown yourself in here." She jerked awake with a little gasp and he cooed at her. "It's all right. It's only me."

She turned her head to find him sitting on the edge of the tub watching her. "Oh. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

He caressed her cheek, watching her closely for signs of anything beyond exhaustion. "You need to fall asleep, but I would prefer if you did that in a bed." That seemed to be a good idea. Sitting up with no little effort had him getting to his feet so he was out of her way and grabbing one of the towels for her to use. He held it out for her as she got out of the tub and she wrapped it around herself at once, already disliking being out of the warm water. Leaning in he kissed her cheek gently. "Are you all right, Belle?"

"I'm still a little freaked out." She admitted. "But I'll be better in the morning. I didn't mean to upset Bae."

"He'll live. And he'll no doubt need to know how to deal with a crying woman for some later time in his life." Russell said without worry. "And now that I finally have him in bed it's your turn to be tucked in."

She gave him a little push toward the door. "You're tired too." She told him. "Let me change and I'll be right out. Go lay down."

He agreed at once and she knew that meant he was as tired as she was. He simply needed to be sure she and Bae were taken care of before he let himself succumb to it. When he walked out she dried herself off quickly and slipped into the borrowed clothes. Sitting down on the top of the toilet she re-wrapped her ankle, thinking she did a pretty good job of it. She had been watching the nurse because she knew very well she was going to have to do it herself at some point. That done she stood up, testing her ankle carefully before trying to walk anywhere. Coming out of the bathroom she used the towel to try to get the rest of the water out of her hair, thankful that Ruby had given her something far less scandalous than she had imagined was in her wardrobe. She ended up in a tank top that was too long for her, as Ruby was several inches taller, and a pair of shorts that on Ruby would have been ridiculously short, but on her were at least marginally decent. When she opened the door she spotted Russell laying on the bed, propped up against the headboard as he waited for her. He was tired, that was obvious, but still revved up from the day. He looked over at her when she opened the door and she went to him tiredly, letting the towel drop to the floor carelessly as she crawled onto the bed with him.

He simply put his arm around her when she curled up against his side, tucking her head onto his shoulder. Hoping that he had calmed in the last hour or so, or was too tired to get worked up anymore, she approached the idea of the baby again as delicately as possible because they really needed to talk about it. However, as soon as she opened her mouth to say something everything just died away and she shut it again, trying to regroup. She decided he had a clear advantage having had a child before and wished she knew what to say. He didn't notice her internal struggle and began to brush his fingers over her side gently. Leaning her head up so she could see his face she watched him silently, nearly mesmerized by the emotions playing over his face. His eyes were on her middle, as if he couldn't bring himself to look away. It shocked her that a little over two years ago she had given little thought to this man and had believed him dangerous and heartless. She would challenge anyone that could see him now to hold that claim.

Reaching up she cupped his face gently and pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him. His arm slid around her very carefully and rested around her waist as he returned the kiss. She relaxed all over and leaned further into him, feeling better like this. His hand ran over her still damp hair and she caressed his cheek, beyond happy they were here together. His eyes were dark with love and he kissed her forehead warmly before peppering her face with feather light kisses, exceedingly careful with the tender side. Her eyes fluttered shut and she forgot about the throbbing of her bruises in light of the affection. Lifting her arms up she wrapped them around his shoulders. He finally found her lips again and kissed her warmly.

When he broke away she opened her eyes. He kissed her again before rubbing his hand over her stomach. After a moment he shifted her, pulling her down so her head was resting on one of the pillows. As she sank into it he shifted down the bed, his hand never leaving her stomach. She went still, confused by what he was doing, until he caught hold of her hips and kissed her abdomen over her borrowed clothes. Her stomach settled all at once and she let him set his forehead against her without protest. Reaching down she ran her hand through his hair, tickling his scalp and then rubbing her fingers down over the long thin muscles at the back of his neck.

He let out a low sigh, his breath tickling over the soft cotton. His hands ran up and down her sides for a moment before he kissed her stomach one more time. He shifted back up, using his strong leg to make it more fluid a process, and she felt much better than she had since she found out she was pregnant. All at once she settled, feeling right all the way through. She finally managed to find something to say. "I'm sorry you didn't find out from me. I've only known for a week." He rubbed her hip again, watching her quietly. She tugged at the knot on his tie, amused and a little charmed that he had saved her life dressed so dapperly. "I was going to make dinner and get you a little drunk first." She admitted as she got his tie undone.

His lips curled up in amusement and she felt better still. It was always good when he smiled at her. "And how was that conversation going to start exactly?" He asked.

Her arms went back around his shoulders as she told him, tugging at the ends of his hair affectionately. "Well, I hadn't planned it out word for word, but it would have certainly started with mentioning how much you love your soon to be first child."

He smiled again, no doubt knowing that would have softened him to the idea. "I see."

"And then gone on to mention how fun he is to have around."

"That's very clever of you."

She kissed him playfully and his eyes began to twinkle with amusement. "And then I was going to point out that you've taken a rather strong fondness to me." He sent her a bemused look. "And that it might be great fun to have a new clumsy person about the house that had your eyes and ability to do math. Or conversely, be quite graceful and much prefer storybooks to accounting."

Bending his head down he kissed her gently. "Let's hope for grace or the two of you will tear the house down around my ear." She smiled, really smiled, and kissed him again. "But we should start stocking up on bandages just in case." She giggled and he kissed her again. When he pulled her away he held her securely. "I love you."

Her smile softened. "I love you too."

"Time for bed." He told her. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Okay." She agreed, more than ready to sleep.

"Did you take anything for the pain?"

"No, I don't really want to risk the Tylenol to be perfectly honest." She told him. "I think it looks worse than it is. I'm really more annoyed than anything now."

His eyes glittered angrily. "Interesting. I'm still ready to kill him."

"No killing." She said, although she found she was less bothered by how serious that statement was than she should be. But having been kidnapped, terrorized, and brutalized she was feeling a lot less magnanimous than she normally did. It hardly helped that her stepson and baby had also been so seriously threatened either. "That would be hard to hide, especially since Killian is in a jail cell. They have cameras in there I do believe."

He made a sound that indicated he wasn't worried about the extra work that might take and she tried to distract him. "Will you help me with my wrists before we go to sleep?" She asked, really needing assistance. "I can't wrap my right one the way I'm supposed to." Whaler had told her to do this after they got to the inn since it would be a waste of time and effort to bandage her up only to have to do it again after she got in the bath. The water would have ruined the whole thing so he had told her to wait until she had cleaned up.

He kissed her again before sitting up and pulling the cream Whaler had given her and fresh bandages off the side table where he must have set them when he came in to check on her. She sat up, taking a moment to kick the blankets down so she could get under them when they were done with this. Turning toward him she held out her first wrist and he pressed his lips together at the sight of it, but refrained from saying anything. Dabbing the cream on had her letting out a little sigh of relief and he looked up at her. She answered his unspoken question. "It's numbing it. That's wonderful."

He finished coating her wrist, getting all of the abrasions, and then carefully wrapped the bandage around her skin. He tied it neatly, keeping it safe from further injury and trapping the cream against her skin. She hoped it scabbed over by tomorrow morning because she was tired of seeing blood all over the clothes she was wearing. Russell went onto her other wrist and had it coated in cream and wrapped in short order. "There we are." He said softly.

"Thank you." She said as she lay down and got under the blanket. "I think you may be the best husband to ever have existed after tonight."

"Is that so?" He asked her as he lay down beside her.

"It is." She told him firmly, snuggling up against him. "You're so good to us." She murmured, already halfway to sleep.

He kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket up over them so they would stay warm, letting her go long enough to turn off the lamp next to the bed before wrapping her back up in his arms again. The last thing she knew before darkness dragged her down was his hand running gentle circles over her back. When she woke up hours later she knew it was late in the morning. She felt better, at least her emotions were much more stable, although her whole body was throbbing at her. Determined to ignore that she sat up slowly and found she was alone in bed. Wondering where Russell had gone she got up, taking a few minutes to clean herself up, change back into the scrubs so she was covered, and try to get her hair back under control before going to look for them.

It was an easy search. As soon as she opened the door to the room they had been in she heard them across the hall talking with the door wide open. Walking in she saw both Bae and Russell were eating an alarmingly large breakfast and she knew very well Granny had gone totally overboard. Bae couldn't have been more delighted though and was digging into a mound of scrambled eggs and bacon with abandon. The moment she smelled the food she nearly lost her head as well and sat down at the table with them at once. "Morning." She said sleepily as she grabbed a plate and began to load it up with pancakes and eggs, uncaring that meat had so far not been her friend as her brain screamed for the protein laden food.

"Good morning." Russell replied as he watched her pilling food on her plate. Considering she hardly ever ate breakfast, and when she did it was a granola bar or half a bowl of cereal, she wasn't surprised by his interest. However, she didn't care about his interest as she began to eat. She hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours and she was starving. The table was largely quiet as she and Bae ate, and Russell sipped at a cup of coffee, having already finished his own normal sized meal. She was sure he was trying to wake up enough to be able to outmaneuver David and she left him alone to do just that.

She was happy enough to enjoy the food, and was feeling wonderful for about ten minutes until her body seemed to suddenly realize she was still pregnant and decided to turn on her. Halfway through the food she had put on her plate her stomach began to rebel nastily and she stood up abruptly and fled the room without a word. She nearly ran Ruby down as she headed toward the bathroom in the room she had stayed in, not wanting Bae and Russell to hear her get sick. "Belle?" Her friend asked as she raced by, limping badly in her haste. Ignoring her she got to her bathroom and slammed the door shut before getting sick.

She threw up twice before anyone bothered her and was sitting beside the toilet dizzily hoping this was over when she heard Gold. "Dearie?"

"Leave me alone." She ordered sickly. "I don't feel good."

Ruby spoke next and she was annoyed more than one person was hovering outside the door. Could she not even go through morning sickness alone? For a moment she really hated the both of them for existing. "Are you all right?"

"No!" She snapped moodily, her emotions swinging about like a sledgehammer in an instant. "I'm throwing up and I'm still hungry! Do you know how wrong that is?"

To his credit Russell tried to be helpful. "Perhaps eggs were a bad choice." He reasoned. "I could go get you some fruit and toast-"

This option was not well received. "I think you've had enough involvement in this!" She snarled. "I want the eggs!"

"All right." He agreed calmly, and she knew he was rolling his eyes, she could sense it. "Do you want anything or should I go away?"

"The second one, you horrible man!" She snapped right before she got sick again.

She heard him walk off, which was really the best thing he could have done, but Ruby stayed by the door, calling after him. "Gold, where are you going? She's obviously sick!"

"I'm a smart enough man to know when to retreat." He informed her. "But by all means continue to bother her. I'm sure that will end without tears."

The door to the outer room shut and Ruby muttered something under her breath before speaking to her. "Belle, what's the matter? Did you get some bad food?"

"No! Go away, Ruby!"

"Do you want something to help settle your stomach?" She asked, unperturbed by her efforts to chase her away.

"No." She said sullenly as her stomach began to slowly settle. "I'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Not if you have food poisoning-"

"I have morning sickness!" She said angrily. "Now leave me alone while I finish throwing up!"

There was a pause. "You're-you're pregnant?"

"If you ask me another stupid question I'm going to hit you!" She yelled, rage sparking in her for no real reason other than hormonal madness.

"Wow, you're really not the picture of maternal sweetness the media likes to portray." Her friend informed her. "I don't even feel bad that you're going to be fat soon after that."

She narrowed her eyes at that, but the outer door opened and closed a second time and she knew she was alone, which was all she had wanted in the first place. Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the bathroom with a settled stomach and brushed teeth. She also felt noticeably more stable and more than a little guilty for being such a horrible grump. She crept back into Bae's temporary room to find Russell nearly through another cup of coffee and Bae asking him when they were going home. "I just want shoes again." She heard Bae inform his father.

"We'll go home as soon as Belle eats-" He caught sight of her and she sat back down in her chair no doubt looking as sheepish as she felt.

"I may have recently said some things I didn't mean." She informed him as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Sorry." He raised his eyebrow and simply pushed a bowl of fruit salad toward her. Thinking that was really very sweet after she had called him a horrible man she took it and began to eat the fruit slowly, not wanting to throw up again. She avoided the eggs she had left, although she really did want to eat them, and when the fruit and pancakes were gone she let out a little sigh of satisfaction.

"Better?" He asked.

"Much, thank you." She said, feeling normal again.

Russell stood up. "Let's go home then. I'm sure you both want to change into your own clothes and I would like to clean up before the sheriff tries to take me to jail."

"Wait, what?" Bae asked in alarm, his head snapping up.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." Russell assured him. "I'll have it sorted out in a few hours."

"Why would he want to take you to jail?" His son demanded.

He shrugged carelessly. "Finding Belle was a bit more illegal than one would hope in a daring rescue."

Despite the seriousness of the discussion that had her laughing lightly. "At least you were dressed to impress." She replied, patting Bae on the shoulder reassuringly. She may not know exactly what Gold had done to find her, but she had a fairly good guess and was sure he could get himself out of it. "Let me go talk to Ruby for a minute and I'll meet you at the front door. I'll be fast."

"Very well." Russell agreed. "See if you can borrow some shoes while you're talking to her. It would be nice if both of you kept your toes on you between here and the house."

"I think we'll be okay." She told him as she went in search of her friend. She rather thought she owed her an apology too and wanted to go ahead and get that out of the way, along with a slightly better summery of what was going on with her. Hopefully this would be the last time she had to tell anyone she was pregnant, because this was already getting old. All she wanted was to return back to their normal routine, because all this adventuring was really very exhausting. She would much prefer if the next escapade she took part in was found in the pages of one of her books. That seemed a much safer, and much less painful way to expand her horizons.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! This one is coming to a close, alas, but expect at least one more chapter before it's done.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

David had taken Russell to the station for questioning for nearly ten hours and she and Bae had been left on their own at the house to clean up the mess Killian and Cora had made in the house. She had wanted to go with Russell, but he had asked her to leave this to him, kissing her temple before telling her he didn't want her to get anymore worked up than she was. Seeing that he was being at least mostly honest about that, and he really didn't want her to stress herself further, she had reluctantly agreed. Not that she was fully convinced that was his only motivation after what Jones had told her about his former relationship with one of their kidnappers that was no doubt now in one of the jail cells at the station. She was convinced he was trying to prevent her meeting the other woman so she wouldn't work out what that relationship was, since he still thought she had no idea. They were going to have to talk about that, not to mention the lying involved, but for the moment she simply wanted this to be finished and didn't mention those particular thoughts to him as he was getting ready to leave as it might throw him. That, and she didn't want to make a scene in front of the sheriff, who was becoming truly impatient with them, and her stepson who had really been subjected to enough violence and fighting for the rest of his childhood.

Bae hadn't been anymore pleased to be left behind than her, but said nothing about it, simply went upstairs to get cleaned up and change clothes. In his case she thought he was simply too worn out to start an argument, or worked out that he wasn't going to win anyway so didn't even try to get his way at the moment. Then again maybe he simply didn't want to see Jones again and going to the sheriff's department would make that happen. Regardless, she had to admit it would have been tough for her to follow even if she was set on it, as Russell had pulled out all his stubborn manipulative impulses on the subject. So, faced with no resistance, Gold left with the sheriff minutes later, and she went about taking care of other problems, which was likely just as well because she was sure Gold would have a real fit if he had a chance to take inventory of what had been destroyed before she could at least brace him for it. He hadn't made it past the front door of the house before David arrived, and thus had no chance to see the parlor in the light of late morning.

And truly, the parlor was a disaster area that even had her upset by all the destruction. It took them two hours to get the place back to her standards of cleanliness and the remains of the cabinet out to the curb so it could be taken away when the trash ran the next day. That had been a pretty epic struggle between how heavy it was and her ankle, but she simply wanted the reminder of what happened out as quickly as possible, and with Bae helping they got it done. She was sure Russell was going to be annoyed about the piece once he had time and energy to worry about it, but there was little in the way of hope for the cabinet. It was easy to see there was nothing to be done for it, not even a trained professional would be able to salvage it. Once the large bit was out of the way she went back to the parlor and gathered the few things that had survived the fall and set them to the side for Russell to find new places for.

As she was sweeping, moving furniture about to be sure she got all the glass up so there would be no further injuries, Bae set the television upright and sighed. She glanced over and saw the entire front was cracked. It was clearly in the same shape as the cabinet. "Is your game broken?" She asked.

Bae shoved the broken TV to the side so he could get to the small black box. He checked it over and shook his head. "Doesn't look it." He hit the button that turned it on and it began to glow, indicating it had turned on. "Not that it'll do much without a television."

"I'll order a new one." She told him, thinking the one he had been using was fairly old at any rate. She wondered when Russell had even bought it, because it was still one of the large one's with the box backs. Flat screens had been out so long now she was sure it was at least six to ten years old. Russell may have bought it when he first moved to Storybrooke so many years ago now. "Although it'll take a few days to get here."

"Yeah." Bae agreed without much worry. "Should I take this outside too?"

"I'd appreciate that." She told him honestly. "Can you lift it yourself?"

"Sure." He said as he stood up. "And it's not like I can break it more if I drop it."

That was fatalistically optimistic. She gave him a small smile and he hauled the TV up into his arms, adjusting it so it wouldn't topple, and walked out of the room with it, looking unbothered by the weight of it. While he took it outside she finished sweeping, being sure to get everything. By the time he came back in, slamming the door on the cold, she was pushing the debris into a dustpan. "Thanks, Bae."

He shrugged in way of reply to that, far more concerned with other matters. "Is papa in trouble?" He asked her bluntly, and she wondered how long he had been working himself up to ask that question as they tidied up.

"I doubt he will be for long." She told him honestly, knowing very well Russell would get himself out of this with an ease that would make many other men envious.

"What did he do?"

She was briefly torn between lying and telling him the truth. Russell had told her, in what she was sure was very scant detail, what he had done to Killian. She had been very briefly shocked and appalled before it sank in that she well would have died if left alone in the mine for much longer. As much as she didn't want to think about it, as her anxiety was bouncing up again the way it had been for the last week even without being kidnapped, she doubted she could have made it much longer in that sort of cold. Even now she was half convinced if he hadn't called to her and knocked her out of the daze she had been in she may well have slipped off to sleep and not woken up again. Unable to see what he did as anything short of saving her life she decided it was only right that Bae knew. She reasoned he was going to find out anyway as she was sure the story was already spreading through the town like wildfire and she would much rather Bae know what happened from her or Russell rather than some random neighbor. "He tied him up and made Killian tell him where I was."

There was a pause as Bae processed that. "How did he make him?"

Sighing, she dumped the glass and ceramic shards into the trashcan she had dragged in here as they cleaned. "I understand there was some force involved."

"He hurt him?" Bae asked quietly.

She answered as best she could. "Yes, he did, he's rather badly bruised." Bae was watching her, clearly conflicted over how to feel about this. Setting the broom and dustpan to the side she continued. "I know that probably isn't what you wanted to hear, and I'm not saying it was right, but your father was very afraid for all of us. He did what he thought he needed to do."

"He found you though." Bae said after another moment.

She gave him a small nod. "He did find me."

He rocked a little on his heels. "And the baby is okay."

"And the baby is okay." She agreed. "And Killian is in jail where he can't get you again."

This seemed to settle any doubts Bae had about his father rather easily. "I guess Killian kind of deserved it after what he did."

She wasn't really sure anyone deserved to be beaten and supposed she was still a bit wobbly on her feelings over the matter herself. But she pushed those things aside as it wasn't helping her nerves at all. She could see her hormones were going to be rather a pain over the next few months as they were clouding her higher thought processes and making her feel rather unbalanced. "Help me move the furniture back and then we can order a new television." She said in way of reply. Bae came over to help and they finished putting things in order as they waited for Gold to get home.

Hours later, and with Russell still not back, and having heard nothing from him since he left she finally became impatient. When ten o'clock rolled around and he still wasn't home she packed Bae into the car with her and went to go fetch her husband. On the way to the station she revved herself up to the point of tearing the jail down around David's ears only to find Russell was out in the lobby pulling his keys from his jacket pocket as he prepared to leave. He looked fully satisfied with himself, smirking at something smugly until he saw them walking in. He sent her a look that told her he was not pleased with her for coming when he asked her not to, but she was hardly contrite about it. "I told you to wait at home."

"You've been gone all day." She pointed out unnecessarily. "I came to get you."

"I've just finished." He told her, chasing them both out the door before they could make it three feet inside the building. "You could have simply called instead of coming back out into the cold. You know very well I had my cell phone with me." He continued, all but scolding them both, because clearly Bae should have known better than allowing her to run away with herself about this. "And you shouldn't be walking with a twisted ankle at any rate, especially on snow and ice. You should have kept her at the house, Bae."

"Oh, aye." His son replied sarcastically. "Keep her at the house. Just like that. I want to see you try to keep her at the house."

She took up for her stepson at once. "You can leave him alone." She informed Gold as they got outside. "As I was going to use his boyish charms to help rescue you from jail."

Russell rolled his eyes as Bae shook his head, clearly having not thought he would be used as a weapon against the sheriff. "I will be happy to leave him alone once we get back to the house." He indicated her car. "Go on, I'll be right behind you."

She had a great many questions about what had gone on between him and David over the course of the day, but for the moment kept her peace about it. Ten minutes later and they were all back in the house and Russell was calm once again. He paused briefly to look into the parlor and when he saw it was clean looked over at her again. "Belle, you're supposed to be resting."

"I'm fine." She told him, unconcerned. Really, other than the aching she felt okay. Even her nausea had vanished for a time and she had managed to get two full meals down without throwing up over the course of the day.

"I can see how this is going to go." He said more to himself than her. He turned his attention to Bae for the moment, no doubt gathering himself to deal with her and her disregard of taking care of herself and the baby for after he had attended to Bae. "Killian and Cora are in jail. They're going to be moved to Boston sometime tomorrow. I don't want you worried about them coming back. All right?"

"Okay." He agreed. "What about my mother?"

Russell shifted uncomfortably at the question and she glanced over at him too. She hadn't even thought about that in the madness, about what would happen to Mila, but now that Bae said something she couldn't help but think about it. She had been the one to send Killian here, which made her a conspirator and part of at least Bae's kidnapping if not her own. She wasn't sure Mila gave much thought to her, unless she had also been targeted since she was soon going to have custody of Bae thanks to Russell. She also found it terribly heart breaking that after everything that happened, and after what Bae told her about his mother not loving him, that he was concerned about her. It wasn't fair that such a sweet soul should have this type of burden. As her mind turned all that over quickly Gold answered. "Son, I don't know what's going to happen to her. That isn't up to me." Bae nodded and Russell reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Bae said nothing for a moment as he watched his father. "Promise you won't try to make it worse for her."

Gold's dark eyes glittered at the request, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking, whether he was hurt by the assumption that he would, or annoyed that he had been so neatly thwarted from doing just that. In any case he agreed. "I promise, Bae."

He nodded, looking far older than fourteen. "I'm going to go to bed. I'm glad you're home."

Gold was now watching him with worry, but didn't try to stop him. "Okay." He agreed as he pulled him into a brief hug, understanding that Bae needed some space and time on his own to think about what this might mean. "Come and get me if you need anything."

His son nodded and turned, heading up the stairs to his room. They both watched him with different kinds of worry, and when they heard his door slam shut Russell sighed. Reaching over she caught his hand. "Give him until tomorrow." She advised gently. "He'll want to talk to you then."

"Mila will end up in prison." He told her quietly. "Even if I stay fully out it she will. No one takes kidnapping lightly and it hardly helps that this will be considered international kidnapping either."

There was little she could say about that, mostly because she was sure he was right. "Then we can worry about that when it happens. There's nothing else we can do about it, and certainly not right now." She began to tug him toward the kitchen. "Come and eat something. You've been gone all day and I know you haven't eaten since breakfast."

He followed after her, watching her walk critically. "We should have gotten you crutches."

"Stop fussing." She ordered. "I'm fine, just… slightly slower than usual."

He was unconvinced by this argument and made her sit down on one of the stools at the island in the kitchen before he went after food. She hadn't been overly ambitious about dinner, and had simply made soup and sandwiches for herself and Bae. Russell found what she had made for him in the fridge and set the bowl of soup in the microwave to heat it up. A few minutes later and he was sitting next to her with his food and a drink. She let him get a few good mouthfuls in his stomach before saying anything. "Are you going to tell me what you were really doing in Boston?" She asked, figuring that would be an easier place to start than anywhere else.

He shook his head slightly, as if he had completely forgotten about that little trip after today. She supposed she couldn't blame him after the crisis he had come back to. "It might be easier to show you." He stood up from his seat. "I need to go out to the car."

"Finish eating." She said, thinking whatever it was it could wait.

"I'll only be a moment." He told her as he left the room. She contemplated following after him, but knew that would only annoy him with the way her ankle was. And sure enough he was back in less than three minutes with his briefcase and several bulging bags with various labels on them. She cocked her head to the side, seeing that he had gone shopping somewhere. She found that funny for some reason as she had never seen him in a mall before and could only imagine him muttering under his breath about crowds and overpriced gadgets despite his love of having things all around him. She was starting to seriously suspect this was due more to childhood poverty than anything else, but it was equally possible that busy mind of his simply liked the look of so many items all about to help keep it occupied.

"This secret trip better not have been about you going shopping." She told him with a false warning look. "If you left me here so you could go to the mall without me I'll be annoyed with you. I could have bought a new dress."

He huffed out a small laugh. "Hardly." He answered. "I was trying to pass the time while they cleared the roads." He set the bags up on the counter and she began to relax as some sort of normality returned to their lives. "And as Bae is rapidly outgrowing everything he owns it seemed a wise way to spend a few hours."

Curious now she opened the bags and found an assortment of new clothes for him, all of them warm and well made. She particularly liked one maroon colored sweater, thinking it would look very nice on Bae with his coloring, and refolded all the items once she had seen them. "These are nice." She said in approval. "I hope he can wear them for more than a few weeks. Every time I get him something he seems to outgrow it to spite me."

"I don't think he's doing it on purpose." Russell said with amusement as she pulled out a pair of soccer cleats. After taking them in she looked at the tongue of the shoe to see what size he picked out.

"I hope these fit come spring." She told him. "You should have gotten him a size bigger than he wears."

"I did."

Her lip curled up at the corner. "No, you didn't. This is the size he's wearing now."

"Oh for christ's sake." He grumbled. "Didn't you just get him shoes a size smaller a few weeks ago?"

"Yes, and then he grew again last week and I got him another pair." He sighed and she laughed a little. "He's going to be bigger than you when he's done you know."

"That seems rather inevitable at this point." He agreed.

"So you didn't go simply to shop." She said, turning back to the subject at hand.

"No." He agreed as he opened his briefcase. She watched him with interest and he pulled out a small pile of papers. She pushed the clothes and shoes aside and took the documents curiously when he handed them to her. A few sentences into the first page and she looked up at him sharply. He interpreted the expression correctly. "Relax, dearie, I'm not dying, but no one lives forever."

Calming slightly she turned her attention back to the paperwork and read through it quietly. Midway through, once she was past the legal jargon and realized what was happening, she wasn't sure what she was feeling. When he died she would have full ownership of not only his business and properties, but his bank accounts. She didn't even know what that meant for her, how much it was, but it was clearly far and away more than she was comfortable with. Finishing, she turned her attention back to him. "This should go to Bae, not to me."

"He will get it eventually, and he has a trust fund he'll have access to when he's old enough to be responsible with it. When he's older I'll transfer the properties and business to him assuming he wants that, but I'm not sure that's what he will want with his life and I've no interest in pressuring him into it. I worked this hard so he could have his choice at life, so he would have the opportunities I never had, not to tie him down somewhere. I've made sure he'll have everything I ever wanted for him and plenty of money so that he can live without any worries. I've taken care of Bae. I want to be sure you're taken care of as well."

She shook her head and tried to give the papers back to him. "Russell, no, I don't want it. I have my own money and a job on top of it. You won't even let me help with groceries. I don't know what to do with what I have. I don't need any more."

He took the papers back, but it was clear that didn't mean he was going to change anything. "It's already done, dearie. My lawyer has a copy and it's been legalized."

"But-"

"I'm not going to fight with you about this of all things." He interrupted. "Especially not right now." Leaning over he kissed her forehead before sitting back down. "If you'll sign the second set so I can mail them back out I'd be quite happy."

"The second set?" She asked, and he promptly handed her another packet of papers. No sooner was she holding it then he set a pen beside her as well. As she read he went back to his simple meal, dipping the edge of his sandwich into the soup before taking a bite. Her eyes scanned the few pages there were and she was thrown again. "You rewrote our prenup?" She asked, even more baffled. "I don't want to get divorced, and have every intention of driving you crazy until one of us dies. You didn't need to change anything." She told him as she skipped ahead to the end to see what this meant and nearly choked on the air she was breathing. "Are you crazy?" She asked seriously as she eyed the amount she would get if they got divorced. "Four million dollars?" She couldn't even imagine that much money. "How much- How much money do you have?" She asked, having never really given it all that much thought before. She knew he was wealthy, there was no way he wasn't with how much of the town he owned and how many loans he gave out, but now she was really starting to suspect she had greatly underestimated his fortune. If this was what he was willing to give her if she left him she couldn't even comprehend what that meant about how much money he had.

"More than four million dollars." He said calmly as he ate. "I'll be happy to go over our financial situation with you in a few days once everything else dies down a bit." Having no idea what to say about any of this she simply sat there looking at him until he picked the pen up and set it in her hand. When he pointed at the last page where her signature was meant to be she hesitated for a moment before signing it, and only did that because he raised his eyebrow impatiently. She could tell how pleased he was by her compliance in this matter and set the papers back in his briefcase and shut it firmly. He finished eating quickly as her mind did confused back flips, trying to work out what this meant about their relationship, and when he was done he urged her upstairs. As they went into their room he spoke again. "You aren't doing anything but laying in bed tomorrow." He told her firmly.

"I'm not staying in bed all day." She told him. "I'm pregnant, not sick."

"You are pregnant, exhausted, and covered in bruises." He informed her as if she didn't know. "In bed you will be."

She huffed, knowing very well he wasn't going to be able to keep her there, but allowing him to delude himself for a few moments if it made him feel better. She left him briefly so she could go change, dragging out one of his shirts since she liked those the most, and simply wanted to be as comfortable as possible since she was pretty sore despite what she'd told him. Going back into their room she saw he was already changed and leaning back against the headboard.

Going to him she slid onto the bed and promptly curled up against him, snuggling close. He wrapped his arm around her waist and shifted her closer. That had her humming in approval and she kissed him warmly before setting her head on his shoulder. She lay against him quietly, his chin resting on the top of her head as he lay propped up against the pillows. Her eyes were heavy lidded in minutes and she realized how tired she was, knowing that the anxiety was the only thing keeping her up, and he was lulling her closer and closer to sleep as he ran his hand back through her hair in a steady pattern, his fingers rubbing her scalp as he did. She knew he was still worried about her as well as the baby she was carrying, and the bruises were hardly helping his mindset, let alone the injuries on her wrists, but having him here was certainly making her feel worlds better. "So did you talk your way out or did you post bail?" She asked conversationally.

"Do you think I'm not a good enough lawyer to talk my way out?"

She smiled in amusement. "I don't know, are you?"

"Oh, I assure you I am dearie. It helped that the local DA owes me a favor."

A small laugh escaped her. "Of course he did. I bet he still owes you at least three others on top of it."

"Five actually." He informed her, and she wasn't at all surprised to find she had low-balled the figure. According to Gold a favor owed was a problem solved. The more powerful the person who owed the more he should work to be sure he was owed as much as possible so he could cash in later. "I think he's relieved I've gone and collected on one."

"You're so rotten." She informed him. He hummed in agreement, proud of it, and he patted her hip gently with the hand that wasn't running through her hair. "Does everyone owe you a favor?"

"Very nearly." He told her. "I suppose Bae's safe."

She laughed softly at that. "I do hope so." She nuzzled her face against him, her cheek rubbing against the exposed skin of his neck. "He's worried you know."

"Bae?" He asked. "Killian isn't going anywhere. I thought I made that clear."

"About the baby." She told him. "He thought I wouldn't want him here once the baby comes. I think maybe he thinks the same thing when it comes to you. You should talk to him tomorrow."

"He thought we wouldn't want him?" He asked, bothered by that. Even so she was sure now that she said something, pointed out this worry, that Russell understood it.

"I'm pretty sure I shut that thought process down, but you should talk to him anyway to be sure." She really wanted to be positive Bae was as settled as possible about this new change in circumstance, and with his mother now in trouble as well she knew it was going to be a rough patch for him. "Promise me you'll talk to him. I don't want him thinking that you're trying to replace him."

"Of course I'll talk to him." He assured her.

"Good." She replied, feeling better. "I don't like when he's upset. I want him to be excited about being a brother, not terrified we're going to toss him out on the street."

His lips pressed against her hairline as he bent his head to kiss her. "I'll have him settled tomorrow." He promised her. She rubbed her face against him again, indicating her approval, and snuggled up closer to him. She felt normal for the moment, her body acting the way it was supposed to, and she was reveling in that. She hadn't thought pregnancy would be quite this exciting, although she supposed being kidnapped made it a bit more of an adventure than it generally was. Russell simply let her flop all over him, either unbothered or pulling out extra patience for her tonight. She didn't really care either way as long as he let her do what she wanted. Besides, it was rather a bit harder to get comfortable when one was covered in bruises. There seemed no sure fire way to lay without something hurting at least a little despite her best efforts. "Are you done, dearie?" He asked at last.

"For the moment." She told him, refusing to commit to anything.

He shook his head and reached over so he could pull her old quilt up over her. She had moved it in here as soon as the snow started in late November, and although it didn't match any of the other bedding Russell had noted how much she loved the patchwork quilt and said nothing about it. "Where did you get this old thing?" He asked, looking at the frayed patches once it was settled over her.

"My mother made it for me." She told him. "She finished it right before she died."

"What happened to her?" He asked, and she knew it had only been a matter of time before he did.

"Our house caught on fire." She hated thinking about this, but he had asked and she saw no reason not to tell him. "It was the middle of the day. I was at school and my dad was at work." Her fingers toyed with his shirt as she spoke, worrying it in her hands as she shared her small story. "He used to manage a big landscaping company in Australia. My mother was supposed to be at work too, she worked at a really fancy resort and planned all these amazing parties for the tourists." She smiled briefly at the memory. Her mother had snuck her into a few so she could see, and what fun they had been with all the fireworks and acts she hired for them. She could recall clearly one magic act in particular that had captivated her when she was seven. She could still recall the scent of her mother's perfume as she held her on her hip so she could see over the crowd. However, her smiled quickly faded in the face of the horrible memory they were discussing. "So no one knew she was inside. I still don't know why she was home, maybe she forgot something and went to go get it on her lunch break." She shook her head knowing that would always be a mystery and knowing equally as well that dwelling on it would change not one thing. "They said she died of smoke inhalation."

"How old were you?"

"Eleven." She told him. "We moved here a few months after that. We didn't really have anything left after the fire and I don't think dad could stand being there with all the memories." Letting go of his shirt she wrapped the blanket more tightly over her shoulders. It had been one of only half a dozen items to survive the blaze. "I still miss her."

He kissed her head again. "I know. I'm sorry." She appreciated that and reached up to cup his cheek briefly before resting her hand on his chest. "What was she like?"

"Bright." She told him, not knowing how else to describe her. "Like a sunbeam. She would make a whole room light up when she walked in." The memory of her mother floated through her minds eye with pleasant warmth. "She was always smiling, and always getting into mischief of some kind. I think she delighted in dragging dad into whatever she was doing with her. She was always in the middle of everything all the time. She could make a friend in a minute and keep them for life. I wish I was like that sometimes."

"You have no problem making friends."

"Not like her." She told him. "And I really don't like parties and crowds the way she did. If she were alive she'd probably think I was terribly boring."

"You are anything but boring." He told her. Reaching down he tilted her chin up and kissed her warmly. When he broke away he added something else. "And I'm just as glad you hate crowds too. It makes it far easier to keep you to myself that way."

She smiled slightly. "Are you hoarding me away too?"

"A man does what he has to." He informed her, the meaning deeper than his light tone suggested as he traced the bruise on her face lightly with the tip of his finger. "I'm glad you're safe, dearie. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found you."

Cupping his face she kissed him again. "Thank you for what you did, for saving me."

He kissed her again in response and shifted so they were lying flat on the bed. He kissed her temple and then her un-bruised cheek, but there was no lust there. He was being too careful with her, concerned by the bruises. "It was my fault you were targeted in the first place." He told her. "And you kept Bae safe." His eyes sparked with gratefulness. "You saved my son."

"He did most of it himself." She told him. "He was really brave. You should have seen him."

He hugged her, pressing his forehead against hers in a show of affection. "You're brave." He told her. "I should have taken you with me the way you wanted. That never should have happened to either of you."

She shook her head, knowing he was blaming himself for this. "You couldn't have known what would happen." She told him. "It's not your fault." She watched him as she kept talking. "And I should have told you about what was happening. I was scared."

"You have nothing to be scared of." He told her. "You're going to be a wonderful mother." She smiled at him for that, feeling better with him saying it, and he kissed her again. "And you've made me incredibly happy all the way around." Warmth suffused through her and her smile grew. That had him smiling softly back at her and he tickled at her briefly before shifting up on his elbow. "Which reminds me-" He turned over and pulled a small bag out from under the bed. "I may have found something for you while I was shopping as well."

She watched him with interest, excited, because she never got random gifts like this. "You got me a present?"

He smiled in amusement as he turned back over, and she sat up a little too. "It appears that I did." She cocked her head to the side and then went still when he pulled a black velvet box out of the bag. He smirked when he saw her expression and opened the box, removing a beautiful gold and sapphire bracelet from it. She was floored by the gift in an instant, because truly, it was gorgeous. She had never owned, or imagined that she would own, anything so lovely. Without a word Russell clipped it around her wrist, ignoring the bandages. Stunned, she was admiring it when she heard the soft snap of another box, Her eyes flew up as he set another velvet box between them. She spotted a pair of gold hoops and was about to say something when a third, and then a fourth box appeared. Fully overwhelmed now she sat, propped up on her elbow, with her mouth hanging slightly open, no doubt looking like a fish out of water.

Laughing softly he reached out and pushed her jaw up so her mouth closed. The small movement got her mind back to work. "What is all this?" She asked as he lay back down, lounging on the bed as he watched her, clearly entertained by what he had done. "You got me a whole jewelry store."

He chuckled. "Only the bits that are pretty enough for you." He informed her. "It occurred to me I had been neglecting you rather egregiously."

She was about as neglected as a fat house cat most of the time. If anything he was attentive, if not downright affectionate. He really went overboard on this. One well made, jewel encrusted bracelet was too much, add in two pairs of earrings and a very pretty new gold necklace and she was downright floored. So she said exactly what she was thinking. "This is too much."

"Hardly." He disagreed. "Had the selection been bigger there would be several more items on the bed."

"I don't need presents. You're trying to spoil me."

"Maybe I want you spoiled." He replied, tilting his head so he could kiss her lower jaw delicately.

She felt her stomach clenching at the feather light touch but refused to get side tracked. "You do not. You like that I'm completely unspoiled." She was sure of that. "I'd rather spend time with you than get things."

He hummed against her skin. "You're still getting presents." She pouted at him and he smiled when he saw it. "I won't be moved by such a display. You'll get presents and enjoy them. I like to pamper you, especially because you like it even though you won't say it."

"Russell-"

"Belle." He responded with affectionate stubbornness. "Enough." He kissed her again. "You're my wife, I'm madly in love with you, and I happen to be quite wealthy in case you hadn't worked that out. I'll spoil you as I see fit, especially since soon I'll have to spend most of the time I could be spoiling you on our new addition." He picked up the present and handed it to her. "And god knows I'll be utterly lost on it as soon as it gets here. So you enjoy being the center of attention for a little while."

It was extremely hard to argue when he put it in that sort of perspective. He did it on purpose of course, but, well… there were a great deal of very pretty thing for her now and it was hard to stay bothered by the excess. "You're very good about getting your way." She told him before kissing him again. "Thank you. Everything is beautiful."

"You're welcome." He said, pleased she was accepting the gift. He let her look at her new gifts for several minutes before setting them to the side and turning the light off. Happy enough to go to sleep, if only to have an escape from the feeling of the bruises for a little while, she curled up against him and went still, thinking they should start working on a nursery sooner rather than later.

Author's Note: Okay, sorry this took so long. Between classes and a new job I've been busy, and I got so many requests for an extra chapter that I wrote this one too. So there will be an epilogue along shortly as I actually had most of that done before I started writing this part. Anyway, hope you liked it! Leave me a review!


	27. Chapter 27

**Epilogue **

Thinking he was getting too old to drive back and forth from Storybrooke to New York City, especially with the god-awful traffic, he promised himself that next time he went to visit Bae at college he was flying in. It might be a pain dealing with the crowds and TSA agents at the airport, but nothing could possibly be worse than nearly being gunned down by a ninety year old biddy who felt it was his fault she had cut him off when he got inside the city. He was sure the woman had no fear of death with as close as she was to it, and clearly she hadn't been bothered to take him right along with her. Shaking the memory away as he was now safely back in his driveway he got out of his car and stretched his back. It popped several times and he winced. Yes, he was certainly going to be flying from now on, his own control issues be damned. Bae was just going to have to deal with picking him up at the airport.

Grabbing his small bag out of the trunk, as he had only been gone three and a half days in total and hadn't needed anything bigger, he walked up to the door and unlocked it. Pushing it open he set his bag down and turned the alarm off quickly before it could wake anyone up as it was well past bedtime at this house. He'd had the security device installed nearly five years ago now, not two days after Killian and Cora had broken in. He had barely been able to stand leaving Belle and Bae alone for ten minutes after that, and Bae had gotten into a disturbing habit of compulsively checking the doors for nearly a month after the incident. That in itself was worrisome enough to have an alarm system and once it was in place he knew all of them felt much better about the house and their safety in general. At least he had been able to go to work by himself and not go into near hysterics wondering what might happen to them if he wasn't there with them at all times.

Yes, that had been an unsettling time all around and he was glad it was so well past them. It had taken him less than half a day to get out of trouble himself, thanks to both his quick thinking and good relationship with the local DA. It also helped that once word got out that he had saved his pregnant wife the whole town had gotten behind him in a rush, which was so utterly bizarre a thing that David simply threw his hands up and let the whole thing go. He rather thought the sheriff was as pleased he was off the hook as anyone else, but had to save face about it as that was his job. Regardless of Nolen's feelings about his sly escape he had returned home to a very relieved Bae, an anxious and hormonal wife, and a tidy house. He recalled being quite annoyed by that, as Belle was not supposed to be exerting herself in such a way. He had been terrified for well over a week that she might still lose the baby, although he had kept that to himself as Belle was already anxious enough. He must have hidden it well, because she had calmed quickly once things returned to normal and went about the natural urge to nest, which was so normal it had his anxiety dropping in return, although it did have her chasing him from room to room claiming he was constantly making a mess. He had the forbearance to say nothing, as he was sure that would only get him in trouble.

It also helped them all settle when Cora and Killian had promptly been thrown in prison. Mila hadn't escaped long either, not when she had been part of the whole thing, helping to set it in motion. She had been charged with conspiracy and taken care of in Scotland. He had tried to shield his son from that as much as he could, but he had handled it with amazing stoicism considering his mother had also eventually been sent to prison. His son rarely spoke of her anymore, or even alluded to her, although he had tried his best to make it clear that he was open to talking about it if he ever wanted to. Apparently Bae did not want to, and so the topic had never come up, although he suspected someday it would. For now though he decided it would be best not to worry about it, and why he was thinking about this now of all times was up in the air.

He had just gotten back from a very nice weekend with his son, who was now in his second year of college. He had been extremely proud of Bae when he had been accepted at NYU. It was an excellent school, and he knew it had been Bae's first choice on top of it. True, it was over six hours away, and he disliked the distance more than he could say, but he understood what his son wanted. He had been nothing but supportive of Bae through the whole thing, from his acceptance into the university to the move, and Belle had been sweetly understanding of his own feelings of his son leaving. He rather thought he would have been a wreck about the whole thing without her there, but she had been there and he thought over a year in he was doing much better with the change. It helped that Bae came home on all the holiday breaks and he went to visit him at least once a semester. Knowing when he would see him again was calming, and so different from his son's childhood that he found he was able to deal with it as long as he had a date in his head.

It was also amazing to him how well he was doing in New York. Bae had fallen into the metropolis as if he had been born there, loving the excitement and chaos of one of the biggest cities in the world. While he appreciated the city for what it was the idea of living there was, to him, a nightmare. Clearly, Bae had the opposite feeling and he let him enjoy his youth with no more than a small direction to be sure to keep his grades up. As he was currently flaunting a four point in finance he had little else to say to his son about his lifestyle. And honestly he was glad Bae had such an opportunity when he never had. By the time he was Bae's age he had been forced to hold down two full time jobs in order to take care of himself. Bae had no such concerns and he was glad of that, wanting his son to be happy and successful, which appeared to be exactly what was happening.

His visit had only reassured him that his son was continuing to flourish, and knowing that he would be home next month for Thanksgiving had him in a good mood. Bae was equally as happy as they had spent yesterday either out at restaurants eating, or at the grocery store so they could fill up his fridge and small pantry his tiny apartment sported. Sure his son wasn't going to starve to death, and had likely gained three pounds with the amount he ate while he was feeding him over the weekend, he left in good spirits and was now as pleased to be home as he had been to see Bae. One of the reasons for that chose that moment to blast out of the parlor in her nightgown at the sound of him arriving home. "Papa!"

He barely had time to brace himself before his four-year-old daughter slammed full force into him with all the enthusiasm in the world behind her. All he saw was a blur of brown curls, a shade or two darker than his own hair flying everywhere as she wrapped her arms around his waist. As delighted and smitten with his daughter as he always was he smiled at her happily and bent over to pick her up. She was still small enough for him to carry around without a problem, as she was a tiny thing for her age. As both he and Belle were built on the slim side he wasn't surprised by that, and knowing that Bae had also been small until he hit puberty he hadn't expected her to be anything other than petite.

"There's my little dearie." He said with total affection as he held her with one arm and she hugged his neck. He wasn't sure he had ever been so in love with another person as he was with his daughter. Or perhaps it was simply a different shade of love than he had for his son because of course Bae meant the world to him too. He thought on some level he had always known that Bae would grow and find his own life, drifting back and forth between it and him, never really leaving, but finding other things to occupy himself. He had no doubt this was why he had clung to his son so hard when he was young, because he knew eventually he would become a man and do what all men did, find his own place in this world.

His daughter was a slightly different story. He had been completely devoted to her, in every way, since the squalling newborn had been deposited in his arms. He had been sure he was prepared for it, had been thinking about the moment since Belle had started visibly showing her state, but he had been wrong about that. He had been completely overwhelmed by her, barely able to speak as emotions bowled him over. He had held his new daughter carefully as the nurses tended to Belle, who had not had an easy labor and was near to collapse. He had enough sense left to move back out of the way and stood quietly in the corner with his baby just staring down at her in wonder, amazed that this little person was now his. After several moments of stupefied wonder it occurred to him that he should calm her and began to rock her carefully, old memories of how to do this coming back to him in a rush. By the time he brought her back to Belle he was sure he was a lost cause.

Where both his children had a natural sweetness about them Ava was of a different variety entirely. Where Bae was largely happy to quietly entertain himself, and had been since he could walk, Ava was constantly getting into as much mischief as possible for a toddler. How she managed to accomplish half the chaos she did when one of them was with her at all times was really beyond him. Then of course she would get herself out of trouble using the very sweetness he so loved. Between her partiality to cuddling and her constant bright curiosity over literally everything he found it hard to become annoyed with her, let alone stay mad for more than fifteen seconds. And honestly she was never trying to get in trouble or destroy things on purpose; she was trying to understand her world and how it worked as all children wanted. His daughter simply went about it with far more gusto than most toddlers.

He was sure this was no more a phase than Bae's quiet personality was. He was also sure that as time went on, as she got older, she would be a more stable fixture in his life than his son was. He had always recognized that fathers and daughters had a unique sort of relationship that nothing else compared to, although he had no personal experience with it himself until recently. Now that he did he was sure nothing would break this bond, and while she might end up going farther off than Bae, might be twice as adventurous, and find a life of exploration that was far beyond this little town he knew that at the end of the day he would always be a permanent part of her life, and no amount of trouble or personal independence would change that. The thought warmed him all the way to his core and it only helped when her little face showed just how happy she was that he was back.

Ava smiled at him brilliantly, her pretty blue eyes sparkling with joy as she hugged him around the neck. How she managed to get her mother's eyes was still a mystery to him as both his parents had brown. He could only assume he had a recessive gene hiding somewhere in his genes that had somehow passed onto her. He was happy for it though as she looked a near carbon copy of his wife and he had yet to find anything prettier than Belle was. The only real difference was the shade of her hair, which was much closer to his than her mother's. However, it seemed to grow a little darker every year and he wondered how long it would last this shade.

"I missed you!" She told him. "You were with Bae forever!"

He smiled as he walked farther into the house with her in his arms. "Three days is forever now?" He asked with suppressed amusement.

"Yes!" She informed him adamantly.

Still smiling he kissed the side of her head affectionately. "Then I have lived a great many forever's." He informed her. "Where's mommy?"

"Upstairs." She told him. "We were reading."

"I'm sure you were." He said, unsurprised by both the activity and the location as it was unseasonably warm for October. Belle, who had been reading to their daughter since she was still in the womb, had hardly slowed down once she was born. And, much to his surprise, he had found that the reading had done more than soothe or entertain their daughter, not to mention keep her out of trouble as it was the only thing that appeared able to keep her sitting still and quiet for any length of time. By sitting in her mother's lap and listening to her reading she had somehow picked the skill up herself at such an early age that it had truly floored him. And of course, Ava had found a way to shock him senseless with it. Last month she had been sitting on his lap while he read the paper one morning, something she had been doing since she could safely be propped up against him, and thrown him for a loop. Unlike Belle he didn't read out loud to her, at least not the newspaper, and simply spent the time talking to her as he read through the paper. At first it hardly mattered what he said as all she could do was coo or fuss at him and wave her arms about, but as she started talking they started having conversations that went from him asking her nonsense questions to increasingly complex conversations.

He knew Belle found the whole thing adorably hilarious, and had from the first day he had carefully set their baby there and began this morning ritual, it was as much for his own wish to bond with Ava as to give Belle five minutes to herself to have a cup of coffee in the morning. The tradition had stuck and now that she was older she simply crawled into his lap so she could cuddle with him. He had truly thought that all she was getting out of it was attention and affection until she abruptly asked him what an 'is-land' was. When he had asked her what she was talking about she had reached out her small hand and pointed to the bottom of the page he was reading. Her finger stopped on a word in the middle of a sentence and he read it out to her before telling her how it was properly pronounced, clearing up the confusion as she did know what an island was, although he was startled beyond reason.

He hadn't even known she had learned any of her letters at daycare, let alone how to read them. When he told Belle, who had been in the kitchen at the time, she had honestly thought he was joking and sent him an amused look as she put some dishes away before she had to take their daughter to daycare so she could get to work. When he insisted that he was not at all joking and had their daughter read a small part of the paper to Belle she had blinked in shock before laughing in delight and picking Ava up to cuddle her and tell her how clever she was. That had only made his daughter's day and Belle had been having her read short children's books out loud to her since then to help her improve.

His real question was when they had been reading, because it was past her bedtime. He was sure Belle had no idea she was up, or that she was downstairs when she should be in her room. His daughter was even in her favorite nightgown with her hair down out of the silly pigtails Belle so loved to put it in. And sure enough he hadn't made it to the bottom of the staircase before she was calling for their daughter. "Ava, where did you go? You're supposed to be in bed."

"Papa's home!" She announced proudly, as if she had made him appear all on her own by sheer force of will, not at all bothered she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

Belle appeared on the top of the staircase with her hands on her hips. He could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh, which he was in no way helping her with as he was giving her a pathetic look, asking her silently not to get angry. It was adorably sweet that Ava had snuck out of bed to wait for him. "I can see that." Belle said, tapping her foot. "At least one person in this house is where they're supposed to be."

He headed up the stairs, leaving his suitcase downstairs. There was nothing in it he needed tonight and he would much rather carry Ava than it. Belle watched them with a raised eyebrow, trying not to smile, and when he was at the top of the stairs he tried to make peace, leaning in and kissing Belle's cheek in affectionate greeting. Her eyes glittered as she knew very well what he was doing.

"Hello, love."

Belle huffed in amusement. "Maybe she'll stay in bed if you tuck her in."

"I'm sure I could give it a try." He told her, moving past her to Ava's room. "What do you think, little dearie? Are you going to stay in bed this time?"

"If you read me a story." She agreed.

He chuckled and Belle called after him as he walked away. "She gets that from you. Your love of deals is clearly genetic."

He could only smirk at that as he went into his daughter's room. They had long ago turned the room Belle had once stayed in into a nursery. He'd had little choice in the matter as Belle had her heart set on it, and had a serious advantage as she had been pregnant when she told him what she intended to do. Not that he actually cared which of the two remaining rooms was made into a place for Ava, he had simply thought she would want to keep this one for herself. When he'd pointed that out she had told him it would be easier to get to her with only the single door separating them, and that there was a greater chance that any noise the baby made would be muffled so that it wouldn't wake Bae at all hours of the night he had simply let her do what she wanted. It had turned out to be a good idea. While his daughter was no worse about sleeping than any other baby, and better than Bae had been, she did wake them up on a regular basis. As far as he knew she only woke his son up a few times, which was far better than he could have reasonably hoped.

Now, four years in the room had changed a little. The crib was gone, replaced with a small bed, which was covered in a green comforter, Ava's favorite color. The blanket was rumpled up from where she had escaped it the first time and he set her back down on the bed. She promptly crawled farther onto the mattress and he pulled the comforter back up over her, wanting to be sure she was warm. She settled at once, looking at him expectantly as she pulled her favorite stuffed animal to her chest and scooted over so her head was on his leg, using him as a pillow. He had no idea why she liked that particular toy so much, it was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen, but Bae had brought it home for her last Christmas and she refused to be more than a few rooms away from it at the most since then. He had spent the last ten months trying to figure out what it even was. It was shaggy, several different shades of brown, and looked like a cross between a grizzly bear and a goat… and possibly a dog too.

He supposed at the end it was better not to ask, because the one time he had mentioned that a teddy bear would be a much prettier friend for her to carry around she had burst into tears thinking he was going to take the ugly thing away from her. Belle had sent him an exasperated look for that before calming her back down and telling her that no one was going to take her toy away, and if she wanted to take it everywhere that was perfectly fine. In way of apology for that he had come home the next day with a gold silk ribbon from the shop and tied it around the thing's neck to prove that it could be just as pretty as a teddy bear was, since Ava was convinced that was true regardless. That had made her ridiculously happy, and the ribbon had yet to leave it. Reaching over he brushed her wayward hair back gently. "What story do you want to hear?"

She pointed to her bedside table and he reached over and picked up a book he had never seen before. He could tell it was new, and if Belle splurged on anything it was books, but he couldn't fault her for that. He was also fairly impressed with how pretty this one was. It was bound in new, brown leather with gold leaf letters and a gold trimmed square around the outside of the cover. It was a large book of fairytales titled _Once Upon A Time_, and there was a ribbon attached to the binding to mark their place. Liking the book at once for no real reason he ran his hand over it briefly, thinking he was drawn to it simply because it seemed to look and feel the way a book of children's tales should be. He opened it to where the mark was and smiled slightly. "Cinderella?"

Ava tugged at his pants. "I want you to read the last one again. I liked that one."

He flipped back a few pages. "Snow White?"

"No the other one." She demanded. "With the boy and the man with a funny name. Rumple-skilstenkin, Rumple-sitkin-" She wrinkled her nose as she tried to pronounce the ridiculously complicated name. "Rumple-tiskowski."

He was trying very hard not to laugh at her efforts. "Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Uh huh, him." She agreed.

He raised an eyebrow thinking that a story that was about someone stealing children was a bit much this late at night, especially for his four year old daughter. "Isn't that a little too scary?"

"I want that one." She insisted, emphasizing it with another tug on his pants. "It's my favorite. Please, papa?"

He had made a strange child. "All right." He relented, deciding if she had already heard it there was little to do to erase it from her mind. He found the story with little trouble, although it was farther back than she had indicated and he wondered how many times she had made Belle read it to her if she thought it was the last one they had read in the book. As soon as he started the story she went quiet, all her attention on him, and he set one of his hands on her head comfortingly as he read her the story, although he realized a few paragraphs in that this was a very odd version of the tale. Whoever the author was clearly had quite the imagination and taken more than a few liberties with the story. He had barely made it past the part where the spinner was sneaking into a palace to get a magic dagger to save his son when he looked up to find her passed out on his leg and smiled. He was always impressed at how seriously children took sleeping, going about it as if it were their jobs.

Chuffing at the sight of her passed out cold when he looked away from the book he carefully shifted her off of him and onto her pillow. She rarely fell asleep so quickly, but it was well past her normal bedtime. Readjusting the blanket he bent over and kissed her head tenderly before getting up, turning off her bedside lamp as he went. The room went dark, save for a small nightlight in the corner, and he walked quietly out of the room and into his. He shut the door softly, wanting to keep her asleep, and spotted Belle waiting for him in one of his t-shirts, which after all this time was still her favorite thing to sleep in. "Is she asleep?" Belle asked when he came into the bedroom. She was standing by the window, looking out of it as patiently waited for him.

"Yes, and it only took half a story. She was tired."

She smiled as she shook her head, bemused. "She asked me when you were getting home every fifteen minutes since lunch time. Apparently asking her to wait until tomorrow morning to see you was too much." He walked toward her and she continued. "How's Bae?"

"Well fed." He supplied as he leaned in and kissed her gently, his arms slipping around her waist and pulling her to him in an easy and familiar embrace as he greeted her properly. "I think we bought half a grocery store." Belle laughed and he went on. "And before you ask the drive was fine."

She hummed in disbelief, having heard him ranting about New York driving on numerous occasions. "Did you have a good time?" She asked, her arms slipping up around his neck.

"I did." He agreed, adjusting her slightly as he spoke. "Bae sends his love and all but begged me to ask you to send him another care package. I think you may be the most beloved stepmother in history."

She laughed again. "It's only because I cooked my way into his heart." She told him. "I'll make one later in the week for him."

"Thank you." He said, grateful to her as much as Bae would no doubt be when he started digging into all the treats. "Next time you and Ava should come with me."

"That's a lot of car time for a four year old." She told him reasonably. "She would have gone stir crazy with the way she likes to run around until she drops."

"We should try it with her in the spring and see. I don't like leaving the two of you here alone."

She tugged at his hair. "That's never going to happen again." She said softly. "You need to stop thinking that it will. You'll drive yourself mad."

"I'd rather be mad then have that happen again." He told her, the years having done anything but wipe away or dull the memory of that horrible day. "We should try it and see. It would be good for her to visit different places and she misses Bae when he's not here. And all he does is ask about her when I go to visit."

"All right." She relented. "But you're putting together an activity bag for her before we go."

"Good." He said, satisfied with the agreement.

She smiled and leaned against him, stretching her neck up and kissing him warmly. "I missed you."

Taking the invitation at once he kissed her back and she hummed softly, a clear sign she was as interested in this as he was. Pressing her more tightly against him with one arm he rubbed his hand up her back, wanting her close. It was wonderful being missed, not to mention still having her wanting him this much after nearly seven years of marriage, even if they had only been sleeping together for five. He had difficulty now, knowing how he'd lived comfortably by himself for so long. He couldn't imagine coming home without her here, without Ava here. "I missed you too."

She kissed him again before escaping his grasp with a sassy swing of her hips. That always boded well for him, when she got that look in her eyes, and when she twisted him about with a swift movement and shoved him down onto one of the chairs he let out a grunt at the small impact, although it was a very pleased grunt. Without a word she straddled his lap and pressed her lips against his hotly as she rubbed her body against his.

More than pleased with this situation he started to run his hands over her, free to do so when he was sitting in the chair and she was sitting on him. Belle hummed as she pressed her lips against his and unbuttoned his shirt with nimble fingers. For once he wasn't wearing a tie, as it was a bit of an overkill for being in the car all day after having breakfast with Bae, and soon she had it open. Leaning her head down she kissed at his chest, her back bending to do so, and he slid his hand under her shirt so he could stroke her bare skin.

Belle sighed happily as his fingers ran over her skin and she murmured into his neck as she teased him. "Russell."

He hummed at the tone, his hands flowing up her back below the t-shirt. Belle began to rock over him slowly, rubbing herself against him, and he got hard in a hurry. She was only pleased with herself for that, for getting him excited so quickly, and raised her head and pressed her lips hotly against his. Unable to allow that to pass without a rejoinder he shifted one of his hands from her back and placed it between her legs. She let out a little pant as soon as she felt the heat of his hand and he realized she was as eager as he was. Twisting his wrist a bit he began to rub her the way she liked.

Belle whimpered softly as she put her hands on his shoulders and continued to rock against him as he wound her up. He shifted into what he thought would be a good rhythm, and had no doubt it was, but Belle was too eager to wait and let him go so she could reach down between them. He wasn't about to protest the lack of foreplay, and when she got his pants undone and pulled him out, stroking him in just the right way to have his eyes nearly rolling back, he could only let out a soft groan. She kissed him again and wiggled, shifting her shorts out of the way so he could slip inside her without her having to get up.

Far past eager he lifted his hips as he grabbed at hers, positioning her in a rush and dragging her down over him. Belle let out a low moan of approval as he sank fully into her and he sighed in agreement. For several seconds they were still, and he leaned in the few inches separating them and kissed her lovingly. Belle returned it and when they broke apart she began to rock again. He kept his hands on her hips as she moved, telling her silently what pace he wanted. His eyes were locked on her face, the fact that she was covered up making it easy to keep his attention there, and she held his gaze steadily as they moved together.

After several minutes he let go of one of her hips and cupped her face, pulling her lips back to his. Belle returned the kiss, eager and breathless, and her fast rise toward pleasure was exciting him beyond reason. While he could always get her to release it generally took him longer than five minutes, and for some reason taking her when they were both fully dressed was an amazing turn on. Or perhaps it was just that she had been so excited to see him that she didn't want to take the time to get them out of their clothes before she had him. Whatever the reason he was rapidly losing control and wanted to throw her over so he could follow. He started to lift his hips as she rocked, driving himself just a little farther inside of her, and that seemed to be all she could take.

Letting out a whimper her back arched as she ground against him, striving to hit her peak, and all at once she snapped. Relieved she had come he let himself go, clutching at her as his hips pressed up, trying to get himself as deep into her as possible as he found his release. Belle clutched at his arms, and he was happy he had his shirt on as her nails were digging into him as pleasure rocked through her. He hardly noticed though, as he was lost in his own sensations, and he groaned quietly at the feeling. Slowly, he relaxed all over as his body pulsed pleasantly and found Belle as incapacitated as he was. As she slumped against him, sated, he smiled softly, his fingers brushing over her back as they relaxed together in the aftermath. Belle smiled into his neck as she caught her breath and reached up to caress his jaw with her sweet gentleness. "You're beautiful." He told her breathlessly.

"And you're biased." She said with an indulgent smile.

"Hardly." He told her. "That's an objective fact."

She laughed and lifted her head to kiss him, although she didn't shift off of him and he remained snuggly inside her. "I'm glad you're home." She told him.

He kissed her lazily, enjoying her. "I could tell." She pushed at his shoulder as she smiled and he smirked as he got soft between her legs. "Did you have a quiet weekend?" He asked conversationally as he played with the ends of her hair.

"With your daughter?" She asked dryly, neglecting to mention her part in contributing to Ava's making at the moment.

His smirk turned into a smile. "What did she get into this time?"

"Everything." Belle informed him with easy forbearance. "I wish I could siphon off a bit of her energy."

"To be four again." He laughed.

Belle hummed as she finally shifted up enough for him to slip out of her, although she settled back in his lap at once. He adjusted their clothing and she helped. A moment later and they were both a bit more put together, although he wasn't sure why that mattered as they were bound for the bed eventually. "It's a very good age." She agreed as she adjusted her shorts one last time, his eyes all but fixated on those pretty legs of hers. "Full of exploring and cuddliness, and being potty trained. It would be nice to keep her this way forever."

He ran his hands up and down her sides. "As I recall you say that every four to six months."

"And I mean it every time." She assured him. "One day she'll be too big to carry around with me and then what will I do?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something." He told her, not wanting to think of that himself. He dreaded the day she got too old to want to follow him around all day, too old to think he and Belle and Bae were her whole world, too old to want to spend all her waking hours with them, too old to keep her youthful innocence. So he chose not to for the moment. "And where did you get that book she's obsessed with?"

"Mmmm." She responded as she bent her head down and nibbled at his neck, sending sparks of pleasure straight down his spine despite his very recent orgasm. "It came in one of your shipping orders at the shop." He didn't recall ordering a book, although remember clearly asking Belle to be sure the boxes made it inside his business as he would be away when they arrived Friday morning. He didn't trust anyone to leave them alone outside the front door all weekend regardless of the low crime rate in the little town. He had also asked her to be sure nothing had broken in the process of getting it and knew well enough she had to open everything to be sure. "I decided I wanted it. Congratulations on making a sale."

He rolled his eyes even as she nipped at his skin. "I'm not sure taking my wares constitutes a sale."

"Oh hush." She told him, unperturbed. "It's a beautiful book and one of the best things I've read in ages. It belongs here."

He wasn't about to deny her, but it was fun to tease. "Yes, the story I was asked to read was rather an interesting one."

"Did she make you read _Rumpelstiltskin_ again?" Belle asked with a knowing smile as she shifted so she was sitting sideways on his lap and one of her arms went around his shoulders to keep herself steady.

"You mean Rumpletiskowski?" He asked dryly as he moved his arms about to accommodate her, which had her sniggering like mad. "Don't you think that's a bit dark?"

"She loves it." Belle told him. "You should have seen the look on her face the first time I read it, like she'd found something better than chocolate. She can't get enough of it now."

"How many times have you read it to her?"

"Six or seven." Belle told him. "And she's finally named her stuffed animal Spinner after it, which I have to say is an improvement on 'my stuffy'. I'd love to know what has her so enthralled with it."

"Children latch onto strange things sometimes." He reasoned. "Bae's favorite story for years was _Peter Pan_. I must have read it to him at least three hundred times. He had three birthday parties in a row with the theme."

"That must have been adorable." She said. "Did you dress him up?"

"Of course." Belle laughed at the confirmation. "He certainly looked the part."

"So cute." She sighed.

"It was actually." He agreed, recalling just how adorable Bae had been at five years old in his Peter Pan outfit. "I was hoping to get her into a princess outfit at some point."

"Good luck." Belle murmured. "So far she is less than impressed with the princess stories I've read her. You might be able to wrangle her into a fairy costume. She was at least interested in those, I think because they have magic."

He had never been overly impressed with fairies. He blamed all the old stories his grandmother had told him about the fae, which frankly had frightened him when he was a small boy. Although he knew that the normal fairy stories were much nicer than the ancient ones he had been told. "I suppose a wand would be motivational." He agreed.

"Mmmhmm." She agreed, and he could see she was winding down now, her expression going soft and sleepy. He had no doubt she was tired after a full day running after Ava by herself and didn't want to keep her up much longer. He was tired too after being in the car so long. However, Belle appeared much more interested in talking than going to bed. "I vote that you read her the story again tomorrow as I've already done it several times more than you."

He smiled as she spoke, simply pleased and content to be here. "Whatever you want, dearie."

"Good man." She told him as she began to tease. "I should let you trick me into marrying you again."

He smiled as he kissed her forehead. "That was a one time only offer."

"Lucky I was smart enough to take you up on it." She replied.

"I'm relatively certain I'm the lucky one." He told her sincerely.

Belle was about to say something when they both heard a small thump and the sound of small feet scampering across the ground. Belle sighed resignedly, realizing that she was going to have to put Ava to bed for at least the third time tonight, but her exasperation vanished when her daughter called to her from the other side of the door. "I had a nightmare, mommy."

Belle was off him in an instant and he got up after her, brushing his clothes down quickly. She opened the door at once and Ava immediately put her arms up in a silent entreaty to be picked up, one small hand clutching at her stuffed animal. Belle responded to her at once and scooped her up. His daughter sniffed as she held onto her and Belle cooed at her. "It's okay. Nightmares aren't real are they?"

"No." Ava agreed, her voice rattling wetly, sounding not at all convincing.

"I told you that story was too scary." He said unhelpfully.

Belle sent him a look as she turned toward their bed. "What was your nightmare about?"

"A big purple cloud eating everything."

Belle sent him a superior look over Ava's shoulder and he shook his head at both her and the absurdity of that dream. "What a rude cloud to scare you that way." Belle said as she sat down on the bed with Ava. "You know what scares away rude clouds?"

"No." Ava sniffed.

"Me." Belle said as she laid Ava down beside her and tickled at her ribs gently. Ava wiggled at the sensation and then Belle completely surprised her out of her fright by leaning down and blowing a raspberry over her stomach, which had his daughter squealing in delight.

"No, mommy!" She protested with her pretty laugh. "It tickles!"

Belle did it one more time for fun and Ava thrashed happily. Smiling at the sight, because he knew just how lucky he was to have this, he went to his dresser and got out his own nightclothes, already seeing that they were going to have company in bed tonight. Belle laughed down at her and sure enough Ava promptly kicked at the comforter and crawled under it, situating herself in the center of the bed. His wife made no protest to this, as it was rare Ava slept with them, but neither of them wanted her frightened and unable to sleep, as that would result in a cranky day tomorrow. The idea of her being scared didn't set well with him either and he left briefly to clean himself up and change before going back to bed.

He came back to find Ava snuggled under the safety of Belle's arm and he flipped the light off. Going to the bed he lay down, wondering if he was going to get any part of the blankets tonight, only to have Ava abandon Belle in favor of him. He hugged her to him and she settled, quieting almost at once. He patted her back gently and Ava hid her face in his chest, seeking comfort from the nightmare that he was more than willing to give. He murmured reassurances to her for several minutes until she dropped off, her body going limp as she lay between them. Belle shifted up on her elbow to look at her, and seeing her asleep she leaned over and kissed him warmly before laying back down. "You're very good at keeping nightmares away." She whispered with a small smile.

"Even nightmares are afraid of beasts." He teased back just as quietly.

Belle sent him a bemused smile. "Beast indeed." She replied as she shifted so her head was on her pillow properly. "I don't know why you think that's such a funny nickname." She informed him. "And you've certainly been tamed at any rate, so you may as well let it go."

He smiled, amused. "Is that so?"

She yawned before she answered, reaching her hand out so she could hold onto his, Ava sleeping between them. "I certainly turned you back into a man, although I admit Bae and Ava helped."

He couldn't argue that. "I suppose you did."

Belle smiled at him softly and squeezed his hand. "That's what you get for making me so happy."

Lifting her hand up he pulled it to his lips and kissed it softly. "A fair deal." He answered, thinking whatever happiness he had given her she had returned ten fold to him. The toddler slumbering trustingly under his arm was proof enough of that.

She gave him one last sleepy smile before closing her eyes. "Goodnight, Russell."

"Goodnight, dearie." He murmured back as he shut his own eyes. He slipped into slumber easily; his resting mind filled with spinning gold and chipped cups as cheerful laughter floated around him, filling him with joyful contentment.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the love you guys gave me for this story! I had a really fun time with it and am a bit sad to have it end. I'll be going back to Faith in Fiction soon, so keep an eye out for an update there. Cheers!


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